Ceysson & Bénétière

Born in 1995, in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

   Presentation

Rachael Tarravechia was born in 1995 in North Carolina. received a B.F.A. in painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia in the spring of 2018. She has exhibited her work internationally in the United States, Hong Kong, and France. Her work investigates the threshold of private versus public, and aim to capture fleeting, intimate moments.  Moments where the room was just previously occupied, and now there are no people, no phones, no cameras, yet the aura of humanity still lingers. Tarravechia lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.  

   Education

2018         B.F.A., The Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia, United States

   Awards

2018

Summa Cum Laude, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, United States

BFA Painting Showcase Best in Show, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, United States

Winter Painting Showcase Honorable Mention, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, United States

2014-2018

Deans List, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, United States

Achievement Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, United States

Academic Scholarship, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, United States

Tarravechia work explores the theme of folie à deux. Folie à deux is the idea that two people are being driven to the cusp of insanity by factors outside of their control. As such, Tarravechia uses imagery from horror movies, video games, and anime to devise sinister narratives that at first glance seem innocently inviting. By intertwining the eerie with the innocuous, she creates a feeling of not being able to trust one’s eyes, enhancing the sense of delusion and madness. Her paintings capture the moments right before a severe act of violence is going to occur, leaving the viewer in perpetual dread and excitement. 

Hysteria sets just such a scene. The viewer sees a pair of disembodied gloves holding a knife that seem poised to go on a violent spree. The intricately patterned floor and the wielded knife invoke the artist’s favorite Italian horror film, Suspiria, where the protagonist is slowly driven insane at a prestigious ballet academy. Outside the room, is a brightly sunlit pool in stark contrast with the dark happenings inside. Horror is also present in Blanche, where a soft and cuddly looking cat hides chilling secrets. Inspired by the 1977 Japanese horror film, House, the cat embodies an evil spirit hinted at by its glowing eyes. The sense of mischief is present in the stylized green glint, often used in video games to convey the shininess of precious objects. 

Tarravechia also draws upon her memories of playing video games with her brothers to furnish her paintings. In Soul Seeker, we see a completely tiled bathroom, with a floating scythe in the foreground. The scythe is a composite of three magical anime elements from Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Blood-C. The butterflies flying around the scythe, as well as the glowing pinkness of the bathroom tiles try to offset the inherent danger of the weapon. It glows temptingly, inviting the viewer to touch it as if it were placed there just for that purpose. 

This technique is used again in Counterfeit Roses to bend the sense of reality. Tarravechia stumbled upon the carpeted basement bathroom in this work while browsing a house in Reno on Zillow. The painting depicts the strategic angle of her screenshot where the mirror on the back wall quadruples the size of the small, claustrophobic room. A blue rose floats in the middle of the tub, facing the same way in all the reflections, immediately disorienting the viewer and creating a sense of unease. 

To the untrained eye, Tarravechia’s paintings seem very pretty and palatable, enhanced by the eye-popping colors, poppy borders, and bedazzled elements. They teeter at the edge of reality and magical fantasy inviting the viewer to step in and become part of the hallucination. But as you start to look deeper, the frightening elements emerge slowly, and the fever dream takes hold. It is in this liminal space that these works exist and Rachael Tarravechia shines. 

Neha Jambhekar, January 2023

Solo shows

2024

Water on Velvet, Ceysson & Bénétière, New York, USA

2023

Fever Dream, Ceysson & Bénétière, Lyon, FR

2022

Salvation in a Dogwood Bloom, Tchotchke Gallery, New York

2021

Wish You Were Here, Launch F18, New York

2020

The Viewing Room, Online Show, Launch F18, New York

2018

All That Glitters, Chinatown Soup, New York

2017

Thank You!!, Chinatown Soup, New York

Two person and Group shows

2023

Homecoming, Tchotchke Gallery, New York, USA

2022

The Ecstasy of Saint Britney, Ceysson & Bénétière, New York

What's Your Dream?, Galerie Zberro, Paris, FR

Butterfly Effect, Tchotchke Gallery, New York, USA

2021

If These Walls Could Talk, Rachael Tarravechia and Julia Jo, Dinner Gallery, New York

New York Isn’t F*cking Dead, Tchotchke Gallery, New York

Of Decadence and decay, Marley Smit SVA Thesis, New York

Launch F18 10 Years, Launch F18, New York

2020

The Secret Garden, Bobblehaus, New York

Spring/Break In Excess, Spring/Break Art Fair, New York

2019

My Hollywood Mirror, Launch F18, New York

WEAVE: Pattern in Three Dimensions, Arts Brookfield, New York

Got It for Cheap, The Hole, New York

Ultralight Beams, The Mount Analogue, Seattle, WA

Sublime Banality, Here/There Gallery, Portland, OR

2018

The Shadowman meets The Feminine, Contra Gallery, New York

Speed Dating, Bomb Pop!Up, New York

SCAD BFA Painting Showcase, Alexander Hall Gallery, Savannah, GA

FIX, Welmont Venues, Savannah, GA

Alexander Collective Salon Show, Non-Fiction Gallery, Savannah, GA

Port City Review Exhibition, Alexander Hall Gallery, Savannah, GA

Winter Student Showcase, Alexander Hall Gallery, Savannah, GA

2017

Open Studio Exhibition, Alexander Hall Gallery, Savannah, GA

SCAD DeFINE Art Winter Showcase, Alexander Hall Gallery, Savannah, GA

2016

International Group Open Studio, SCAD Lacoste, Lacoste, France

SCAD Student Showcase, SCAD Hong Kong, Sham SHui Po, HK

Bibliography

2022

Booooooom, “Artist Spotlight: Rachael Tarravechia”, booooooom.com

The New Yorker, Goings on About Town, “The Ecstasy of Saint Britney”, newyorker.com

Cultbytes, “Femme Reigns Supreme in “The Ecstasy of Saint Britney” at Ceysson & Bénétière” cultbytes.com

Artnet News, “Editors’ Picks: 13 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From a Film About the Chelsea Hotel to a Show Celebrating Britney Spears”, news.artnet.com

2021

TimeOut, “This new digital art exhibition argues New York isn’t dead”  timeout.com

Cool Hunting, “Brooklyn-Based Rachael Tarravechia + Anthony Eslick’s “New York Isn’t F*cking Dead” Exhibition”, coolhunting.com

Creative Boom, “Rachael Tarravechia's paintings are uneasy, sinister and satisfying”, creativeboom.com

Metal Magazine, "Interview Rachael Tarravechia: Like a Diamond” metalmagazine.eu

Whitehot Magazine, “In Conversation: Rachael Tarravechia and Marissa Graziano” whitehotmagazine.com

2020

Art Plugged Magazine, “Rachael Tarravechia: Artists Inside the Industry” artplugged.co.uk

(Print) Under The Bridge Zine, Winter 2020 

2019

Launch F18, “In Conversation: Rachael Tarravechia and Christian Graham” launchf18.com

The Stranger Newspaper

Art and About PDX 

2017

Accidental Discharge Magazine

Curated by Girls 

2016

Crybaby Zine

Conscious Magazine

High In Style Magazine