Shilo Ratner
ARTIST STATEMENT
I grew up in the beach town of Brant Rock, MA. Although I was involved with the arts in high school, my creative career started in earnest when I obtained a degree in design in 2000 from Curry College in Milton, MA. Furthering my studies on the east coast at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts College of Art. My pursuit of a career in painting brought me out west to San Francisco, where I earned an MFA in painting from the Academy of Art University.
My lifelong pursuit has been for a deeper understanding of truths in spiritual traditions and the common thread that unites humanity. After earning my MFA, I traveled internationally with intention, intrigued by the symbols and practices of many religions. I visited Buddhist and Hindu temples in Malaysia and Indonesia during my travels. In a rural village in Brazil, I had a decisive shift in consciousness that inspired my series “From Within.” Returning to contemporary life between these significant journeys has allowed me to express work about the “whole” experience vs. only focusing on one or the other as my approach embraces various spiritual and cultural experiences through a visual language.
In 2009, I was recognized with an award juried by Bay Area Figurative artist William Theophilus Brown in a San Francisco-based exhibition. In 2016 I was again presented with an award at the “The 105th Exhibition”, Mystic Museum of Art, by Jurors Darby Cardonsky and Will Lustenader in Connecticut. In 2020 I was awarded Best in the Show, juried by Geaninne Gutierrez-Guimaraes, the Associate Curator of the Guggenheim Museum. My paintings have been selected for exhibitions by jurors Theophilus Brown, Rita Gonzalez, Dore Ashton, Dean Sobel, and Donna Seagar. I’ve also exhibited in museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Mystic Museum of Art, and The Slater Memorial Museum. My paintings are in many private art collections in the United States and abroad.
I live in New Haven, CT, and am an active practicing artist in the New York Metropolitan area.
EDUCATION
2003-06 MFA Painting, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California
1996-00 BA Design, Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts
HONORS
2025 – Public Art Project, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
2025 – Public Art Project, VCU Health Liver Transplant Units, Richmond, VA
2024 – Best in Show, “Fortune Favor Exhibition”, Aedra Fine Art, Jersey City, New Jersey, Curator: Michael Hanna
2020- Best in Show, “103 Bendheim Exhibit”, Greenwich, CT, Juror: Geaninne Gutierrez- Guimaraes
2017 – Ely Center of Contemporary Art, Artist-in-Residence, New Haven, CT
2017 – Weiss Sisters Award, “116th Annual Juried Art Exhibition”, New Haven Paint and Clay Club, New Haven, CT: Juror: Richard Klein
2016 – Award of Excellence, ”The Healing Power of ART 2016′′, Manhattan Arts International
2016 – Awarded Second Place, “The 105th Exhibition”, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, Connecticut: Juror: Darby Cardonsky, Will Lustenader
2015 – Award of Excellence, Four Point Contemporary, Online Gallery
2015 – Award of Merit, Four Point Contemporary, Online Gallery
2012 – Special Recognition Award, All Women Art Exhibition, Light Space & Time, Online Gallery
2009 – Awarded second place, “I’ll bet you can’t paint a portrait”, 712 Art Space, San Francisco, California: Juror: William Theophilus Brown
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
“Make Your Mark”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Marin, CA, 2018
“The 107th Exhibition”, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT 2017
“Metro Montage XV”, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA
“The 106th Exhibition”, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT 2016
CWA 86th Annual National Open Juried Show, Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT
“The 105th Exhibition”, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT 2015
“Metro Montage XV”, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
Scottsdale-Ferrari Art Week, Scottsdale, AZ
2024
Fortune Favors Exhibition and Catalog, Online) Jersey City, New Jersey
Claire Carino Contemporary Summer Exhibit, Boston, MA
Seattle Art Fair, Seattle, WA
Winterlude, Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Constructed Worlds, Perspective Gallery, Hamden, CT
2023
Celebrating Women Artist, George Billis Gallery, Fairfield, CT
106th Annual Exhibition, Group Show, Greenwich Art Society, Greenwich, CT
Affordable Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
“Now is the Moment”, Solo Show, New Haven Lawn Club, New Haven, CT
“Art + Beauty”, Solo Show, Burton and Young, Greenwich, CT
“Conceptual Consciousness”, Solo Show, Claire Carino Contemporary, Boston, MA
Light Exhibition, Group Show, Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2022
Solo Show, Sorrelle Gallery, Westport, CT
Claire Carino Contemporary Summer Expo, Boston, MA
Affordable Art Fair, New York, NYC
Art Expo Dallas, Dallas, TX
2021
“Summer Abstraction”, Solo Show, Locust Grove Estate Museum, Poughkeepsie, NY
Member Show, Artist Alliance, Santa Fe, NM
Bendheim Gallery, Art to the Avenue, Greenwich, CT
“Design Concepts”, Tailored Home, Greenwich, CT
2020
“Oteaferia”, Solo Show, Mexico City, Mexico
SeeMe “Art Takes Armory”, New York, NY
“Centered & Calm”, Solo Exhibition, Lawn Club, New Haven, CT
“Full of Possibility”, Solo Exhibition, DaSilva Gallery, New Haven, CT
2019
Mika Gallery, Group Exhibition, Tel Aviv, Israel
Putnam and Mason, Art to the Avenue, Greenwich, CT
Bryant Street Gallery, Discovery and Depth Solo Exhibition, Palo Alto, CA
The Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich Art Society, 102nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Greenwich, CT Juror: Megan Fontanella
Ely Center of Contemporary Art, “Our Bodies Our Selves”, New Haven, CT
2018
Mika Gallery, Group Exhibition, Tel Aviv, Israel
Putnam and Mason, Art to the Avenue, Greenwich, CT
Bryant Street Gallery, Discovery and Depth Solo Exhibition, Palo Alto, CA
The Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich Art Society, 102nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Greenwich, CT Juror: Megan Fontanella
Ely Center of Contemporary Art, “Our Bodies Our Selves”, New Haven, CT
Ely Center of Contemporary Art, “Winter Showing”, New Haven, CT, Curator: Debbie Hess
DAB ART, “EGGIWEGS“, Ventura, CA, Curator: Yessica Torres
Perspective Gallery, “IN FORMATION: GESTURE & GEOMETRY”, Hamden, CT
Brooklyn Waterfront Coalition Gallery, “Color”, Brooklyn, NY, Juror: Marcela Guerrero
Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Art Society, “Parallel Visions, Realism & Abstraction”, Greenwich, CT, Juror: Jenny Harris
Museum of Contemporary Art, Make Your Mark, Marin CA, Juror: Jen Tough
Bendheim Gallery, Art to the Avenue, Greenwich Art Council, Greenwich, CT
“The 107th Exhibition”, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT, Juror: Robert Reynolds and Eric Aho
2017
“116th Annual Juried Art Exhibition”, New Haven Paint and Clay Club, New Haven, CT Juror: Richard Klein
“Small Works Summer 2017”, National Association of Women Artists, Inc., New York, NY
“Metro Montage XV”, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA
“The 106th Exhibition”, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT, Juror: Emilia Dubicki and Deborah Quinn-Munson
2016
“CWA 86th Annual National Open Juried Show”, Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT, Juror: Min Jung Kim
“The Healing Power of ART 2016” online juried competition, Manhattan Arts International, Juror: Renee Phillips
“The 105th Exhibition”, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT: Juror: Darby Cardonsky, Will Lustenader
“Contemporary Woman 2016”, Chico Art Center, Chico, CA: Juror: Ruth Von Jahnke Waters
2015
“Annual Contemporary Art Survey”, Fort Collins Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO: Juror: Dean Sobel
“Metro Montage XV”, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA: Juror: Robmat Butler
“The Healing Power of ART” online juried competition., Manhattan Arts International, Juror: Renee Phillips
“4th Biannual Competition”, Four Point Contemporary, Online Gallery: Juror: Ahyor Thompson
“Impulse”, Bay Area Juried Exhibition, ARC Gallery, San Francisco, CA: Juror: Michael Yochum, Priscilla Otani, Stephen C. Wagner, & Matthew Frederick
2014
“The F Word: Feminism Now”, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL: Juror: Jeanne Dunning
“The Figure: A Bay Area Legacy”, Gary Francis Gallery, Alameda, CA
2013
“Small Work – Big Deal”, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
“Women’s Rights: An Artists Perspective”, Women United, Online Gallery: Juror: Karen Gutfreund
“Diaspora”, New Artists Gallery, New York, NY: Juror: Laura Kruger
“Hearts in San Francisco Exhibition & Gala Event”, AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
2012
“Bay Area Women Artist”, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA: Juror: Donna Seagar
“2012 National Juried Exhibition”, First Street Gallery, New York, NY: Juror: Dore Ashton
“Momentum: 40 Years of the Women’s Caucus for Art”, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA: Juror: Rita Gonzalez
“All Women Art Exhibition”, Light Space & Time, Online Gallery
“Pacific Art League Faculty Show”, Norton Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2011
“The Guerrilla Show”, ARC Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Beyond the Visible”, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
“Pacific Art League Faculty Show”, Norton Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Soma Art Gallery, Art Span Live Auction, San Francisco, CA
2010
Hang Art Gallery, Group Showing, San Francisco, CA
Ocean Rescue”, Driftwood Salon, San Francisco, CA
Artist X-Change Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Spring Garden Theme Show”,
Norton Gallery, Pacific Art League Faculty Show, Palo Alto, CA
“Bay Area Educators Invitational”, Louie Meager Art Gallery, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
2009
“I bet you can’t paint a portrait”, Art Space 712, San Francisco, CA, Juror: William Theophilus Brown
“Simply Nina”, African American Culture Complex, San Francisco, CA
Sixth Street Gallery and Salon Show, Oakland, CA
PUBLIC PROJECTS | PUBLICATIONS
2021 – Studio Visit Magazine, Volumes 47&48, (Online publication/ print)
2020 – Feature Article in Daily Nutmeg, January (Online publication)
2017 – Artwork Featured in The Daily Nutmeg, October (online publication)
2016 – Mentioned in The Daily Connecticut, “Mystic Museum of Art celebrates
2016 – 105 years of Connecticut Art”, July 2016 (online publication)
2015 – Overcoming Creative Frustration, Art Square Online Article
2013 – Hearts in San Francisco, San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, Project Purchased by Intel
2013 – Equilibrium Catalog, Chicago, IL
2013 – Diaspora Catalog, New York, NY 2012
2012 – CBS News, Best Peninsula Area Artist, Online Publication
2012 – “Face, Figure, Identity” (Sprocketbox Entertainment)
2012 – Momentum: 40 Years of the Women’s Caucus for Art Catalog, Los Angeles, CA PUBLIC PROJECTS / PUBLICATIONS
2020 – Feature Article in Daily Nutmeg, January (Online publication)
2017 – Artwork Featured in The Daily Nutmeg, October (online publication)
2016 – Mentioned in The Daily Connecticut, “Mystic Museum of Art celebrates
105 years of Connecticut Art”, July 2016 (online publication)
2015 – Overcoming Creative Frustration, Art Square Online Article 2014
2013 – Hearts in San Francisco, San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, Project Purchased by Intel
2012 – Equilibrium Catalog, Chicago, IL 2013 – Diaspora Catalog, New York, NY
CBS News, Best Peninsula Area Artist, Online Publication 2012
2012 – “Face, Figure, Identity” (Sprocketbox Entertainment)
2012 – Momentum: 40 Years of the Women’s Caucus for Art Catalog, Los Angeles, CA 2
2012 – All Women Art Exhibition Catalog, Light Space & Time, Online Gallery