Driven by an intense imagination and narratively driven mind, Kyla Zoe Rafert’s work is technically accomplished and psychologically complex. Ultimately these works are a treatise on the multiple, sometimes conflicting expectations society has for women, and the often confusing transition from girlhood, to adulthood, as well as her new role as a mother of two daughters. Her love-hate rela-tionship with feminine ideals, forms the foundation for her work.

She works in both a painting and in traditional printmaking techniques. Most of the works featured here are created using the centuries old technique of etching. The image is first rendered on a plate of zinc, copper, or steel using a combination of hand drawing, scraping, and burnishing, as well as acid. Once the images is complete, the plate is then rubbed with ink, buffed, and then run through a press to create a limited edition. Her paintings are hand rendered in gouache, and the patterns on walls and floor are screenprinted on top as a final step.

Rafert is currently working towards her second solo show, slated for October 2022, at Sarah Gormley Gallery, Columbus. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, with residen-cies at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, The Vermont Studio Center and Women’s Studio Workshop, among others. She is a member of the International Guild of Realism and her work has received national recognition by New American Paintings, American Art Collector, and elsewhere. She earned her B.F.A. in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design and her M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she studied printmaking. Rafert lives with her husband and two young daughters on their homestead south of Columbus, Ohio. There, in addition to mak-ing art, she is busy mothering, tending livestock and nurturing a large kitchen garden. 

Social media: 

Instagram @kyla.zoe.rafert

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kyla.zoe.rafert

Website Kyla Zoe

Kyla Zoe is known for paintings as well.