Education
MA Fine Art (Hons) Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 2010-11
BA (First Class Hons) Humanities with Religious Studies, The Open University, UK 2006-2009
Training in Figurative Painting, The New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, NYC 1995-98 (Arthur B. Carles Scholarship, Chautauqua Institution Scholarship)
Exhibitions
2024
AllaArt Open Studio, Exhibition and Discussion hosted by Alla Broeksmith and Emily Mcelwreath from The Art Career Podcast (invited artist)
Glimpses of Spring, BOOM Contemporary Gallery
Small Works Holiday Show, BOOM Contemporary Gallery
Ghosting: An Exhibition for All Hollow’s Eve, BOOM Contemporary Gallery
2023
An Eye for Quirk and Wit (curator), BOOM Contemporary Gallery
Robert Franca: Color in the Quiet (curator), BOOM Contemporary Gallery
2020
Northern Lights: An Online Exhibition in Aid of NHS Charities Together, The Wall North Contemporary Gallery, Hexham, UK 2020 Alumni Exhibition: The New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, NYC, online at https://www.artsy.net/show/new-york-studio-school-2020-alumni-exhibition
Spring & Summer Exhibitions, Number Four Gallery, St. Abbs, UK
Enrique Azocar & Rachel Sharp, The Wall North Contemporary Gallery, Hexham, UK
2019 Young Curator for Young Collectors, The Wall North Contemporary, Hexham, UK
Seasonal Exhibitions, Number Four Gallery, St. Abbs, UK
2017-18 Seasonal Exhibitions, Number Four Gallery, St. Abbs, UK
Seasonal Exhibitions, Tallantyre Gallery, Morpeth, UK
2016
The New York Studio School Invitational, The New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, NYC
2015 Three Jurors=3 Shows: NYSS Alumni Exhibition, Curated by Jason Andrew, Yevgeniya Baras & Fred Valentine. The New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, NYC
2014
Eulogy, Vane Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Painting the Pixel, (curator) Gallery North, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Exhibiting artists: Andrea Champlin, Joy Garnett, Paul Goodfellow, Dan Hays, Rachel Lancaster, Cara Nahaul, Daksha Patel, Rachel Sharp, Jo Wilmot
A Portrait Apart Deux, Porter Contemporary, NYC
2013
THE WINE-DARK SEA: Memory in Painting and Drawing, Mark Powell, London
Winter Art Sale, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition, New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, NYC. Jurors: Dr. Tracy Fitzpatrick, Colin Thompson, Raul Zamudio
Digital Sensation, BALTIC 39, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. (Curator, organized with Christine Borland with funding from the British Science Festival.) Exhibiting artists: Joy Garnett, Paul Goodfellow, Dan Hays, Daksha Patel, Rachel Sharp, Jo Wilmot
Small Works, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
International AIC Colour Congress Exhibition, Sage Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Summer Exhibition, Eyemouth Museum, Berwickshire, UK
The Late Shows, BALTIC 39, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Colour as Material, Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki
2012
Winter Art Sale, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Painting in the Digital Age, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
North East Student Art Prize Exhibition, Tower House, Sunderland, UK. Sponsored by Departure Foundation, London. Curator: Louise Ashcroft
The Possibilities of Paint: Debbie Bell and Rachel Sharp, Greenfield Art Gallery, Co. Durham, UK
TEASER, BALTIC 39, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Curator: Christine Borland
The Figure NOW, Brooklyn Artists Gym, Brooklyn, NY
MA and Other Postgraduates, Atkinson Gallery, Somerset, UK
Persona, (solo) Arts Complex, Edinburgh, UK
2011
Postgraduate Degree Show, Northumbria University, UK
Fade Away, Gallery North, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Awards
Semi-finalist, 'Painted Faces', sponsored by Saatchi Online and Winsor & Newton (2013)
British Science Festival Grant (2013)
Northumbria University Travel Bursary to Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki (2013)
Selected for Artist / Curator Mentor Programme at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (2012)
British Science Association Travel Bursary (2012)
New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture Arthur B. Carles Scholarship (1996)
Chautauqua Institution School of Art Summer Scholarship (1996)
Franklin College Presidential Scholarship (1993)