Rainen Knecht
(Born 1982, Tacoma, Washington)

Bio
Rainen Knecht lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Knecht studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, graduating with a BFA in Painting in 2006.Born in a hospital that resembles a spaceship, Knecht has spent her life fascinated by how otherworldly the earth and its inhabitants can be. Raised in the dark woods of western Washington, Knecht spent her childhood deep in those trees, a place of both fantastical beauty and motionless fear. Family stories, fairy tales, dreams and untold histories are the starting points for her figurative paintings which explore themes of beauty, humor and horror. An imaginative storyteller, Knecht weaves together menacing and beautiful histories and re-imagines them as monumental, yet nonchalant figures, confronting the viewer. Knecht’s exhibition history includes solo exhibitions at Fourteen30 Contemporary,Portland and Capital, San Francisco as well as group exhibitions at Various SmallFires, LA, SITUATIONS, NYC, FisherParrish, Brooklyn, Stems, Brussels and DitchProjects, Springfield. She is represented by 1430 Contemporary in Portland, OR.

Website
https://www.instagram.com/rainenknecht/