About

Rebecca Ledbetter is an abstract artist, who creates using an ekphrastic process, pulling inspirations from beloved novels, poems, and other narratives to curate a dreamy and whimsical style of work. 

Inheriting her passion for painting from her grandfather, she studied and explored her studio practice at Denison University, where she earned special recognition for her work with painting, and later with video art. While at Denison, she participated in three group shows, including one with two other graduating seniors, entitled “At This Hour I Was Most Myself,” which was created, curated, fundraised, and organized at the historic Bryn Du Mansion in Granville, Ohio. 

Upon graduation, she resided in Martha’s Vineyard, where she became the Communications and Visual Artist Intern for a local nonprofit dance venue, The Yard. For the duration of her time there, she assembled her next body of work, which concluded in two solo shows – one onsite at The Yard, and another at a local popup venue. At The Yard she unveiled her video art piece, “A Dream Within A Dream,” which  wrestles throughout with a coming of age narrative, but  in a time when regret, memories, and things that aren’t said forever follow you in life.

In 2013, after completing her internship, she moved to Philadelphia where she immersed herself in the artist community there. She began to develop her independent studio practice, developing a body of work outside a structured institution, to transform her practice into a strong discipline. With a central theme of relationships and communications as an important crux of her work, she began exploring how the forms, colors, shadows, highlights of her palette could define that in a more meaningful way. 

She continued seeking inspirations from narratives, poems, and other written work to guide the forms in the pieces, finding new ways to push the space within a canvas to create a story. Through this more structured process, she discovered a discipline of working, creating a way to transform these emotional responses into thought-provoking and meaningful work, even discovering her own coming of age narrative through this work. It is through this process she has discovered, and continues to explore, adding sculptural elements to her paintings, including exploring encaustic painting most recently. She continues this linear path, combining her two-dimensional work with three-dimensional elements, and as of late modeling these pieces into full sculptures as her next exploration.

She received her BA in Studio Art from Denison University in 2013, and since then, has showcased work in Philadelphia, Granville, OH and Martha’s Vineyard, and currently resides and works in Philadelphia.