Rebecca Ness
Rebecca Ness
Rebecca Ness is renowned for her unconventional portraits of people and places. With a novelist’s eye for detail, her oil-on-linen works capture the essence of her social world, transforming everyday moments into timeless, resonant images. Drawing inspiration from art historical masters such as Bruegel the Elder, Édouard Manet, and Lucian Freud, Ness reimagines realism. She skillfully manipulates depth and perspective, moving beyond the traditional distinction between foreground and background to create dynamic, multi-layered space.
Ness (b. 1992, Salem, MA) received her MFA from Yale School of Art and her BFA from Boston University. Her work is in the collections of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; SFMOMA, San Francisco; Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, Claremont, CA; Denver Art Museum; Orange County Museum of Art, CA; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA; Yale University Art Gallery; JP Morgan Chase Art Collection; as well as international collections including Moderna Museet, Stockholm; M Art Foundation, Shanghai; Albertina Museum; Wien, Austria; Long Museum, Shanghai; K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong; Zuzeum Art Centre, Rīga, Latvia; Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker, Norway; Dangxia Art Space, Beijing; Recharge Foundation, Singapore; and Asymmetry Art Foundation, London/Hong Kong. Over the past four years, she has enjoyed solo shows in New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Cologne, Germany, and Seoul, Korea. She has been included in recent group exhibitions at SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA and Akron Art Museum, OH. She enjoyed a solo show in Jessica Silverman’s main space titled “Portraits of Place” in 2024. Ness is represented by Jessica Silverman and Morgan Presents. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Rebecca Ness
Bike Plant, 2024-2025
Oil on linen
90 x 80 inches / 228.6 x 203.2 inches
Rebecca Ness
Bike Plant, 2024-2025
Detail
Rebecca Ness
Wild Side West, 2023
Oil and oil pastel on linen
80 x 90 inches / 203.2 x 228.6 cm
Rebecca Ness
Wild Side West, 2023
Detail
Rebecca Ness
Cubbyhole, 2024
Oil on linen
70 x 100 inches / 177.8 x 254 cm
Rebecca Ness
Cubbyhole, 2024
Detail
Rebecca Ness
U-Haul, 2023
Oil on linen
90 x 80 inches / 228.6 x 203.2 cm
Rebecca Ness
U-Haul, 2023
Detail
Rebecca Ness
Browsing the Bookmill, 2023
Oil and oil pastel on linen
90 x 80 inches / 228.6 x 203.2 cm
Rebecca Ness
Browsing the Bookmill, 2023
Detail
Rebecca Ness
Treasure seeker, 2024
Oil on linen
100 x 70 inches / 254 x 177.8 cm
Rebecca Ness
Seebad, 2024
Oil on linen
100 x 50 inches / 254 x 127 cm
ADDITIONAL WORKS
Rebecca Ness
Crossing Manhattan Bridge, 2023-2024
Oil and oil pastel on linen
100 x 70 inches / 254 x 177.8 cm
Rebecca Ness
My Bedroom, 2023
Oil on linen
70 x 100 inches / 177.8 x 254 cm
Rebecca Ness
Self Portrait with a Cat (after Lasterstein), 2024
Oil on linen
50 x 40 inches / 127 x 101.6 cm
Rebecca Ness
Hartley (after Neel), 2024
Gouache on paper
Framed: 32 3/4 x 24 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 83.2 x 62.9 x 3.8 cm
Paper: 30 x 22 inches / 76.2 x 55.9 cm
Rebecca Ness
Amelia, 2024
Gouache on paper
Framed: 32 3/4 x 24 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 83.2 x 62.9 x 3.8 cm
Paper: 30 x 22 inches / 76.2 x 55.9 cm
Rebecca Ness
Human relations, 2023
Oil on linen
80 x 65 inches / 203.2 x 165.1 cm
Rebecca Ness
Winter Studio, 2023
Oil on linen
90 x 80 inches / 228.6 x 203.2 cm
Rebecca Ness
Night Out at Boobie Trap, 2022
Oil on linen
90 x 60 inches / 228.6 x 152.4 cm
Rebecca Ness
Emma, 2021-2022
Oil on linen
90 x 70 inches / 228.6 x 177.8 cm
Rebecca Ness
Mike, 2021-2022
Oil on linen
90 x 120 inches / 228.6 x 304.8 cm
Rebecca Ness
Telepathy, 2021
Oil on linen
120 x 90 inches / 304.8 x 228.6 cm
Rebecca Ness
A Happy Memory, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 120 inches / 198.1 x 304.8 cm
EXHIBITIONS
PRESS
Rebecca Ness on Inventing Art Tools, What She’s Reading Now, and Cat Fashion
VIDEOS
Rebecca Ness: "Portraits of Place"
CV
Solo exhibitions
2024
Memories of Daydreams, Morgan Presents, New York, NY
Portraits of Place, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco, CA
2022
Art Cologne with Carl Kostyal Gallery, Cologne, Germany
Threads, Galerie Marguo x Edit Projects, Seoul, Korea
Studio Visitor, with Joel Shapiro, Morgan Presents, New York, NY
2021
Stepping Out, Galerie Marguo, Paris, France
Windows and Worlds, Carl Kostyal Gallery, London, UK
2020
Pieces of Mind, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019
Twice Over, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
2018
Buttoned Down, Yale Slifka Center for Jewish Life, New Haven, CT
Group exhibitions
2024
Friends of the Pod, Broadway Gallery, New York, NY
2023
Likewise: Artists Portraying Artists, Savannah College of Art and Design, GA
Home Run, Casa Marguo Inaugural Exhibition, Galerie Marguo, Menorca, Spain
American Portraiture: Selling the Self, Morgan Presents Gallery, New York, NY
2022
Studio Visitor, Morgan Presents, New York, NY
Janus, Morgan Presents, New York, NY
Reflections on Perception, Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH
do-mes-tic-i-ty, Nassima Landau, Tel Aviv, Israel
The Natural World, Alexander Berggruen Gallery, New York, NY
2021
Mother and Child, Friends Indeed, San Francisco, CA
36 Paintings, Harper’s Books, Hamptons, NY
11, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY
2020
Show Me The Signs, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
Katherine Bradford, Hulda Guzman, Rebecca Ness, Alexander Berggruen Gallery, New York, NY
2019
Yale MFA Painting, New Release Gallery, New York, NY
Group show with Martin Gordopelota, Andrew Chuani Ho, Ana Benaroya, Anna Valdez, Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Yale MFA Painting/Printmaking Thesis Exhibition, New Haven, CT
On The Inside, Kate Klingbeil and Rebecca Ness, Monya Rowe Gallery, New York, NY
A Little Tenderness, Gildar Gallery, Denver, CO
Personal Spaces, Danese/Corey Gallery, New York, NY
Uncanny Tales, Agency Gallery, curated by HR Curating, New York, NY
Katherine Bradford, Hulda Guzmán, Rebecca Ness, Alexander Berggruen Gallery, New York, NY
2018
Now You See It, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
Words Cannot Express, Yale School of Art Second Year Show, Green Hall Gallery, New Haven, CT
Human Shape, curated by Katherine J. Kim, Readywipe Gallery, Holyoke, MA
A Few Conversations Between Women, 808 Gallery at Boston University, Boston, MA
Bodies of Work, Brilliant Champions Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2017
You Can Get In And Not Do Anything, Yale MFA First Year Show, Green Hall Gallery, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
Garbage Necklace and Other Things, How’s Howard?, Boston, MA
Reconstruir, 41 Cooper Gallery, The Cooper Union, New York, NY
Anachronism and Liberation, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia, PA
One Night Stand, curated by Brigitte Mulholland and Ryan Michael Ford, W Hotel and Residences, New York, NY
Boston Center for the Arts Ball, pop-up exhibition curated by Robert Moeller, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
#38, Body/Head, pop up show at Be Fluent NYC, Field Projects Gallery, New York, NY
B L O O M, Copeland Gallery, London, UK
re_vol_ting: an art show in protest, Distillery Gallery, Boston, MA
Brooklyn Lime, Bergen Street Studios, Brooklyn, NY
Queer Painting, How’s Howard? Exhibitions, Boston, MA
Catalogues and Monographs
2022
NESS. London, Stockholm, & Milan: Carl Kostyál, 2022
Press
2024
Wilson, Emily. “On protecting what you love to do.” The Creative Independent. July 17, 2024.
Wilson, Emily. “Life burbles with inside jokes in Rebecca Ness’s jumbo paintings.” 48hills. April 4, 2024.
“Preview: The Dense Obesrvational Eye of Rebecca Ness in ‘Portraits of Place.’” Juxtapoz. March 5, 2024.
Miller, M.H. “Against All Odds, New York’s Artist Buildings Have Survived.” The New York Times. February 26, 2024.
2022
Zakarin, Taylor. “Rebecca Ness on Inventing Art Tools, What She’s Reading Now, and Cat Fashion.” Artdrunk. December 2022.
Summer Small, Rachel. “Critics’ Picks: Rebecca Ness and Joel Shapiro.” Artforum. March 2022.
2020
Bogojev, Sasha. “Pieces of Mind: Rebecca Ness’ Detailed Stunners @ Nino Mier, Los Angeles.” Juxtapoz. July 10, 2020.
Bogojev, Sasha. “Art In Uncertain Times: Rebecca Ness Is Looking Out Into the World.” Juxtapoz. April 15, 2020.
2019
Bogojev, Sasha. “Rebecca Ness: The Tools of Her Trade.” Juxtapoz. December 13, 2019.
Awards
Constantin Alajalov Scholarship, Boston University, Boston, MA
Jane Chermayeff Scholarship, The New York Studio School, New York, NY
Karin and Melvin Johnson Scholarship, The Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Scholarship
Performance Scholarship, Boston University, Boston, MA
Wilhelmina Denning Jackson Scholarship for the Arts; Wilhelmina Denning Jackson Trust
Residencies, Marblehead, MA
Residencies
2016
New York Studio School Drawing Marathon with Graham Nickson
2015
The Chautauqua Institution, Residency Program, Chautauqua, NY
2014
Venice Studio Arts Program; Boston University; Venice, Italy
Selected Museum and Public Collections
Albertina Museum, Wien, Austria
Asymmetry Art Foundation, London/Hong Kong
Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, Claremont, CA
Dangxia Art Space, Beijing, China
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
JP Morgan Chase Art Collection
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong
Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker, Norway
Long Museum, Shanghai, China
M Art Foundation, Shanghai, China
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
Ogunquit Museum of American Art, ME
Orange County Museum of Art, Santa Ana, CA
Recharge Foundation, New York/Singapore
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA
Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
The Warehouse Dallas, TX
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Zuzeum Art Centre, Rīga, Latvia