I am a fiber artist and printmaker based in Columbus, Ohio. I received my BFA in the History of Art & Visual Culture with an emphasis in printmaking in 2022 from CCAD, where I was the President of the Art History Student Collective and Vice President of Student Government. I have recently been appointed the position of Print Fellow at the Columbus Printed Arts Center. My work has been exhibited nationally in spaces such as ROY G BIV Gallery, Kink Contemporary, Albrecht-Kemper Museum, and West Virginia University, and is currently supported by the Greater Columbus Arts Council Artist Funds grant. Recently, my work has been featured in the Maker’s Space section of 614 Magazine as well as on Cadmium Red Livestream Broadcast.
My artistic journey revolves around fiber installations, paying homage to the rich heritage of craft. This connection to fiber originates in my childhood spent sewing quilts with my grandmother, and embodies both a personal relationship with craft and resonates with broader Western artistic traditions.
CURRICULUM VITAE
River Forest Berry
Resides & works in Columbus, Ohio.
Education
2024- MFA Candidate, Interdisciplinary Art, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
2022 BFA with Distinction, History of Art & Visual Culture concentration in printmaking, Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), Columbus, OH
2017 Graphic Design, The University of Akron, Akron, OH (non-degree)
Professional Experience
2024 Creative Summer Workshops (CSW), Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, OH (Textile Design & Block Print (7-9), Fashion Accessories (7-9) [instructor of record], Summer 2024)
2024 Wet Clay Classes with Julie Bryne, One Bowl, Columbus, OH
2023 Saturday Morning Art Class Instructor (SMAC), Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, OH (Introduction to Fashion Design [instructor of record], Autumn 2023)
2023 Studio Assistant, Clay Cafe, Columbus, OH (ceramics)
2022 Restoration & Preservation Crew Member, Blind Eye Architecture & Art Restoration, Columbus, Ohio (wood, glass, metal, bronze)
2021 Gallery Associate, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
Awards, Grants, & Fellowships
2023 Print Fellow, Columbus Printed Arts Center, Columbus, OH
2023 Friends of Arrowmont Scholarship Recipient, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2023 Artist Funds Grant recipient, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Columbus, OH
2023 Art History Outstanding Senior, CCAD, Columbus, OH
2022 Windgate-Lamar Fellowship Nominee, Center for Craft, Asheville NC
2022 Student Government Association representative commencement speaker, CCAD, Columbus, OH
2022 Gertrude Prize for Art History recipient, CCAD, Columbus, OH
2021-22 Vice President, Student Government Association, (CCAD), Columbus, OH
2020 Intern, ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH
2019-22 CCAD President’s List, Columbus, OH
2019-22 Founding Member + President, Art History Student Collective (CCAD), Columbus, OH
2019 Summit Artspace Arts Alive Awards, Emerging Artist Nominee, Akron, OH
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Pop Up Solo Exhibition, Adamah Ceramics, Columbus, OH
2022 Tender, Acock Gallery CCAD, Columbus, OH
2022 Family Gathering, BFA Thesis Exhibition, Byers Gallery, CCAD, Columbus, Ohio
2019 Life Condensed, Up Front Artspace, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Group Exhibitions & Community Projects
2025- “A Common Thread”, Wayne Center for the Arts (Wooster, OH), Riffe Gallery (Columbus, OH), Carnegie Gallery (Columbus, OH), Ohio Craft Museum (Columbus, OH), Visions Gallery of Textile Art (San Diego, CA), Curated by Caren Petersen and Char Norman
2024 “Proximity of Fate”, Mansfield Art Center, Curated by Marquise Stillwell, Mansfield, OH
2024 Softer, Sean Christopher Gallery, Curated by River Berry, artists: Leela Waters, Jess Schwarz, River Berry, & Baylee Schmitt, Columbus OH
2024 Ohio Art League (OAL) Spring Juried Exhibition, Upper Arlington Concourse Gallery, Upper Arlington, OH
2024 “Art From the Heartland”, Indy Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
2024 “Heartland”, Dream Clinic Project Space, Curated by Rebecca Arp, Columbus, OH
2023 Between Us, ROY G BIV Gallery, with Isabel Zeng & Margaret Hull curated by Bryan Christopher Moss, Dana Lynn Harper, Julie Abijanac, Michael Goodson, & Sheri Neale, Columbus, OH
2023 Bazzaarbeque Vol. 10, Kink Contemporary, Cleveland, OH
2023 The Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, State Fair Grounds, Columbus, OH
2022 Fragile Landscapes of the Body and Mind, ROY G BIV Gallery, curated by Erin Adelman, Columbus, OH
2022 Assembled Identities, Byers Gallery CCAD, Columbus, OH
2022 Pop Up Art History Student Collective Exhibition II, CCAD Byers Gallery Columbus, OH
2022 Art History Student Collective Online Exhibition, CCAD, Columbus, OH
2022 Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art’s Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, Albrecht-Kemper Museum, St. Joseph, MO
2022 OAL Fall Juried Exhibition, Studio 18, Columbus, OH
2021 The Groundhog Pop Up Art Show, The Warehouse, Portage Lakes, OH
2021 Rise and Pull, held by The Radical Intersectional Printmakers Guild, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
2020-22 CHROMA, CCAD, Columbus, OH
2020-22 Young Hearts, Sean Christopher Gallery, Columbus, OH
2021 Art History Student Collective Exhibition I, CCAD Byers Gallery Columbus, OH
2021 Praxis Exhibitions (I & II), CCAD Byers Gallery Columbus, OH
2020 The Art of Print, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
2020 Art History Student Collective Mail Art Project, United States
2019 Fresh Perspectives, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
2019 Grand, Up Front Art Space, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
2019 Arts Alive Art Auction, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
2019 Fresh Perspectives, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
2019 Summit Artspace Stairwell Mural, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
2018 Defining Landscapes, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
2018 Parallax Contemporary, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
Commissions
2022 Private Commission, Cadmium Red, Quilted Wall Hanging, Columbus, OH
2022 Private Commission, Michelle Michelle Salon, Quilted Wall Hanging, Columbus, OH
2019 Public Commission, A View From Within Exhibition Graphics, Summit Artspace, Akron, OH
Presentations & Publication
Taylor Durell, “Stitches”, 614 Magazine, Columbus, OH, May 2023.
Cadmium Red, Art Collaboration and interview with Bryn Reagan, Columbus, OH, August 18, 2023.
Cadmium Red Live Stream and interview, Columbus, OH, July 2023.
“Crafting Identity: Contemporary Crafts through Feminist Lenses” CCAD Chroma Art History Symposium, Columbus, OH, April 2022.
“Crafting Identity: Contemporary Crafts through Feminist Lenses”, Southern University of New York Undergraduate Art History Symposium, New Paltz, NY, March 2022.
River Berry, “Family Gathering”, BFA thesis publication, March 2022.
Organizations
2021 ROY G BIV Gallery, Member
2021 Ohio Art League (OAL), Member
2020 The Radical Intersectional Printmakers Guild, Member
Contact
rforestberry@gmail.com
www.riverfberry.com @r.forestberry