My practice is grounded in process. I make oil paintings, frescos, drawings, and prints using an abstract visual language and develop my work in series. As I work, I respond to the parameters set by each material and medium, sensitive to the ways in which materials touch, influence, and transform each other and the ways time, scale, and space can be (or not be) developed by each medium. Each work begins with a color, shape, or series of marks that resonate in the moment. I then begin a process of call and response with myself, building the painting (or drawing or print) layer by layer, translating physical experience into 2-dimensional mark. My process is improvisational, a continuous engagement with myself at each moment.
I approach abstraction as a language of symbols that can better speak to felt and embodied experience than representation. Traces, fragments, and fleeting experiences of places and memories generate my images. Shapes emerge from observations of the environments in which I live and work: the natural world, the architecture I move through, and the body’s memories and sensations. I’m interested in the fluidity between rational “seeing” (as a form of knowing and naming) and “seeing” which escapes language, the later being one that contains multitudes of experience, time, and space, and which can also be described as psychological or spiritual.
Formally my paintings refer to the language of diagrams, maps, the history of abstraction, landscape/physical spaces we occupy, and the body. Color in my paintings point to atmosphere, time of day, and light in space. Shapes and forms reference architecture/structure, objects, botanical forms, and body parts. Repetition often calls upon movement and vibrations (sound/music, energy, invisible wavelengths).
I seek out moments of instability in our reality such as in echoes, reflections, mirrors, time, and technology. In each of these, repetition plays a central role in the distortion of the “real”. Repetition of color, line, and form in my work point towards a state of delirium, movement, and/or passing time through its activation of the haptic. My work is influenced by science fiction and its world making and the way concrete language becomes porous in poetry.
Beverly Acha (b. 1987) is a first-generation Latina born in Miami, Florida. Acha makes paintings, drawings, and prints. Rooted in observation, her work captures the intangible sensorial and psychological experience of space through color and repetition. Often working in series, Acha’s paintings build a distinct visual language and logic in response to the environment in which they are made. Referencing architecture, diagrams, and landscape, her core concern is the perceptual slippage within these systems, the spaces between knowing and seeing, experience and memory, and the real and the imagined.
Acha’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including at venues such as DC Moore Gallery, El Museo del Barrio, Albuquerque Museum, Underdonk, LatchKey Gallery, Rubber Factory, 1969 Gallery, and Smack Mellon. Her work is included in public collections including the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio and Soho House in Austin and Miami.
Acha has participated in artist residencies including the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, MacDowell, Fountainhead, Lighthouse Works, Wassaic Project and the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program. She is a recipient of awards including the Aon-CUE Artist Empowerment Award and the Robert Schoelkopf Memorial Travel Grant to Brazil. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings, Diacritics, and the Virginia Quarterly Review.
Acha attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2018) and holds a BA from Williams College (2009) and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University School of Art (2012). She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and is a Critic in Painting and Printmaking at the Yale University School of Art.
EDUCATION
2018 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Madison, ME
2012 MFA, Painting and Printmaking, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2009 BA, Studio Art and American Studies, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Deanna Evans Projects, NY, NY (forthcoming)
Emerson Dorsch, Miami, FL (forthcoming)
2021
cold plunge, Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY
2018
Interlude, Aon, CUE Art Foundation, NY, NY
Warm Form, Underdonk, Brooklyn, NY
2016
Mutualities, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019
See Also: New Work by Beverly Acha and Kristi Cavataro, Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY
2013
Over Here, In There: Beverly Acha and Leticia Galizzi, Abrazo Interno Gallery, The Clemente, NY, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
11 Women of Spirit, Part 6, Zurcher Gallery, New York, NY
Green House, with Marianna Peragallo, Hanna Washburn, Genevienve Lowe, Spring Break Art Show, NYC
Faraway Nearby, North Loop, Williamstown, MA
The Printer’s Proof: Artist and Printer Collaborations, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
2021
Intertwined, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
our constellations: astral embraces and tactual consciousness, Emerson Dorsch, Miami, FL
Phase Change, Vital Spaces, Santa Fe, NM
XX, LatchKey Gallery, New York, NY
A Subtropical Affair III, curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud, Good to Know.fyi, Miami, FL
2020
Life in a Pressure Cooker, Young Space, online exhibition
E/AB Fair, 10 Grand Press, New York, NY, online exhibition
Fanfare, Ildiko Butler Gallery, Fordham University, New York, NY
Painting as Is, Fosdick Nelson Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Velocity of a Page, Greater Reston Art Center, Reston, VA
The Sword in the Sun, Blackburn 20|20 Gallery, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
2019
Three, DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY
Sower, Rubber Factory, New York, NY
The Mind is also a Landscape, Public Land, Sacramento, CA
The sky is blue | and we’re | still tender, Cloud Tree Gallery, Austin, TX
Inklings, experimental sound and drawing collaboration with Abby Aresty, TIMARA (T)echs Machina Music Festival, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
2018
Another Green World, Visual Arts Center at University of Texas, Austin, TX
I See An Omen, Benaco Arte, Sirmione, Italy
Change of State, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY
Noonlight, Blackburn 20|20 Gallery, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
2017
UPROOT!, curated by Gabriel de Guzman, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted, AGENCY, Brooklyn, NY
Published by the Artist, curated by Angela Conant and Grayson Cox, IPCNY, New York, NY
From an Object into an Active Subject, curated by Felix R. Cid, Alexander’s Garage, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday Painter, Laundromat Art Space, Miami, FL
2016
No Regrets, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY
Introductions, curated by Roberto Juarez, La MaMa Galleria, New York, NY
Current Residents, Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM
shutters, curated by Ruby Jackson, Wilde Gallery, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
Ladies, Babies, Hades, Collar Works Gallery, Troy, NY
2015
Left to Right, 437 A, Brooklyn, NY
The Landscape Changes 30 Times, curated by Ala Dehghan, Anahita Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Published by the Artist, International Print Center of NY (IPCNY), New York, NY
Pagina, curated by Peter Hristoff, Libreria Cascianelli, Rome, Italy
Slo Jamz, 109 Ingraham, Brooklyn, NY
2014
Museum Starter Kit: Open with Care, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
SUPER FOG, curated by Kati Gegenheimer, Great Jones Space, New York, NY
2013
For Ed: Splendor in the Grass with Olympic Lad & Lass, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
2012
Beverly Acha, Tamara Bogolasky, Erika Harrsch, Kenny Rivero, curated by Jacob Robichaux, Clifford Chance US LLP, New York, NY
Stars and the Earth, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
2011
Naked Time, The Wall/353 Crown St, New Haven, CT
To/From: Second Year MFA Show, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
College Arts Association MFA Exhibition, Hunter College Times Square Gallery, New York, NY
2010
CHARGE!, Williams Club, New York, NY
First Year MFA Show, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
2009
Stimulus Package, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA
2006
Jetlag 시 차 Traveling Art, Gallery Saamzie 1 & 2, Seoul, South Korea
SELECTED RESIDENCIES & FELLOWSHIPS
2021 Sharpe Walentas Studio Program, New York, NY
Artist-in-Residence, Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY
2020 Fountainhead Residency, Miami, FL
2019 Vermont Studio Center, Zeta Orionis Fellowship, Johnson, VT
MacDowell, Benny Andrews Fellowship, Peterborough, NH
2017 Lighthouse Works Fellowship, Fishers Island, NY
Wassaic Project Artist Residency and Education Fellowship, Wassaic, NY
2016 Roswell Artist-in-Residence Fellowship Program, Roswell, NM (1 year, 2016-2017)
2007 Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
GRANTS & AWARDS
2018 Aon-CUE Artist Empowerment Award, CUE Art Foundation, NY, NY
2016 Hammersley Materials Grant, Roswell Artist in Residence Program, Roswell, NM
2012 Alfred L. McDougal and Nancy Lauter Endowed Scholarship Award, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2011 Robert Schoelkopf Memorial Travel Grant to Brazil, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2009 Frederick M. Peyser Prize in Painting, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
2006 Korean Studies Initiative Travel Grant, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
PUBLICATIONS and WRITING (as author/editor)
2023 Acha, Beverly (Ed.), “Artists in the Studio: On Doubt,” artist book. (forthcoming)
2021 “Making the Present,” Diacritics, Vol. 48, Issue 3: Citation, Otherwise edited by Annabel Kim
2018 “Ten Painters on Doubt,” Lookie-Lookie, Ed. Johannes DeYoung, online and in print, Dec. 2018
2016 Acha, Beverly (Ed.), “Love for Love / Hate for Hate: A Glossary of Our Time.” zine. Dec. 2016
2012 “Growing to Know a Place: Susannah Philips at Lori Bookstein” ArtCritical, Dec. 10, 2012, web
“Bringing the Hand Back into Play: Carolanna Parlato at Elizabeth Harris” ArtCritical, Oct. 10, 2012, web
INTERVIEWS
2022
“On the Spot Studio Visit with Beverly Acha, Part 2,” Brooklyn Rail, Brooklyn, NY
“On the Spot Studio Visit with Beverly Acha, Part 1,” Brooklyn Rail, Brooklyn, NY
Interview with Peter Halley, Paper City Magazine, Dallas, TX
2021 Commissioner Video Interview, May 2021
Welcoming Lighthouse Works’ First Artist-in-Residence, Lighthouse Works, February 2021
2020 Virtual Studio Visit, Fountainhead, October 2020
2018 Interviewed by Lucy Commoners, Wassaic Project “Change of State” Exhibition, May 2018
Beverly Acha and Kati Gegenheimer, Sunday Painter Podcast, Jan. 2017
2014 Interviewed by Mary Ann Bonet, El Museo del Barrio, May 14, 2014. Web podcast.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2022 Artist portfolio feature in Diacritics, Vol. 48, Issue 3: Citation, Otherwise edited by Annabel Kim
2021 New American Paintings, No. 150, West Issue
News, “Editors’ Picks: 11 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week,” Artnet News, 4-12-2021
News, “Two Exhibitions Highlight Latinx Artists’ Abstract Approach,” Artishock Revista, web
Constanza Falco Raez, “‘XX’ Showcasing Female Latinx Abstraction,” Flaunt Magazine, web
News, “XX at Latchkey Gallery,” Time Out NY, web
News, “Miami Feminism and Sustainability in a Subtropical Affair III,” Arte al Dia, web
Pigeon Pages Literary Journal, Two prints published alongside Ananda Lima’s poems, 2-7-2021
2020 Laura van den Berg, “Color Invocations: The Practice of Looking Deeply,” The Virginia Quarterly Review
(VQR), volume 96, #1, 3-2-2020, web and print.
Fanfare Exhibition Catalogue, Fordham University, with essays by Francesca Aton & Sarah Cascone, print.
Polina Uzornikova,“Patterns Converge at Butler Gallery’s ‘Fanfare’,” The Observer, 2-5-2020.
News, “Editor’s Picks: 20 Things Not to Miss in NYC’s Art World this Week,”Artnet News, 1-20-2020.
2019 News, “MacDowell Awards more than $1 Million to Ninety-Three Artists,” Artforum, May 2019
2017 ART MAZE Magazine, Spring Issue 7
Parallax, Singing Saw Press (Pub.), collaboration with poet Kevin Holden, Issue 5
2016 Kati Gegenheimer, “The Possibility of Freedom: Beverly Acha’s Paintings.” RMAC Brochure. Dec. 2016.
Stock, Christina. “Artist Spotlight: Beverly Acha.” Vision Magazine. Roswell, NM. 12-15-2016, p.12-13.
2015 Bonet, M.A. “Limiting Labels: The Experiences of Three Latina Artists” (unpublished master’s thesis). Teachers College Columbia University, New York. May 2015.
2014 Cohen, David. “Rays of Light through Fast Rolling Cloud: SUPER FOG in NoHo”, ArtCritical, 05-23-2014. Web.
Bonet, M.A. Interview. El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY, May 14, 2014. Web podcast.
2012 Kim, Annabel. “Beverly Acha“, MFA Painting & Printmaking 2012 Catalog, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT, 2012, p.11.
SELECTED VISITING ARTIST, LECTURES, PANELS
2023 Visiting Artist and Lecture, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
Artist Lecture on Color, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
2022 Visiting Artist, Maryland Institute College of Art, Hoffberger School of Painting, Baltimore, MD
2021 Artist Lecture, Fordham University, New York, NY
Panel, with Arlene Davila on Latinx Abstraction, Latchkey Gallery, New York, NY
Guest Critic, Painting and Printmaking MFA Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Visiting Artist and Lecture, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
2020 Visiting Artist, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Artist Lecture, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
Artist Lecture, Print Austin, Women and Their Work Gallery, Austin, TX
2018 Smelser-Vallion Visiting Artist Lecture, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
2017 Artist Lecture, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Artist Lecture, “Considering Time, Space, and Abstraction,” Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
Panel/Reading, “Walk and Chew Gum: Artists Who Make Books,” Studio 10, Brooklyn, NY
Artist Talk, The Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY
2016 Artist Lecture, “Abstraction, Structure, and the Relationships Between Things,” Roswell Museum
and Art Center, Roswell, NM
2014 Artist Lecture, Visual & Critical Studies Department, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Artist Talk, ‘Source Material: Modularity and Collaboration’, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
TEACHING APPOINTMENTS
2022-present Critic, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
Fall 2021 Core Critic, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
2019-present Assistant Professor of Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
2018-2019 Visiting Assistant Professor of Studio Art, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Spring 2018 Lecturer in Studio Art, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA
Fall 2015 Visiting Lecturer in Studio Art, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH
Soho House Collection, London, UK
Fidelity Collection, Boston, MA
Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Watson Art Library, NY, NY
Yale University Robert B. Haas Art Library, New Haven, CT
The James Baldwin Library, MacDowell, Peterborough, NH
