Rita Genet is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-born artist who has lived and worked in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

for 20 years.

Early life

Born in Rhode Island and raised in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

, Genet studied art at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in Storrs, and the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Society. In 1972, as a young textile designer in New York City, Genet traveled to Jamaica on holiday. It was there that she became inspired by what she saw, and began painting her decidedly Caribbean style. Eventually, she quit her job in New York City, and moved to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where she could focus on her painting.

Painting career

Genet's portrayals of tropical colors, angels, trees, and decidedly Caribbean style have drawn a demand for her work in international galleries and with private collectors. With a style called "sophisticated-naivety", her vision of tropical scenes is expressed through a kaleidoscope of colors. During her 20 years of painting in Jamaica, Genet's listings in group exhibitions included Harmony Hall, Round Hill Charity Shows, Tryall,

The National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

, and The Bay Gallery, Montego Bay. Her work has been included in a showing of Jamaican artists in Berlin and in the Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Lausanne, Switzerland in the International Competition for 25 countries. She has shown in New York, New Jersey, U.S. Virgin Islands and has paintings in many corporate collections in both the United States and abroad. Ms. Genet's work was featured on the cover of the Nov/Dec 1995 issue of SkyWritings (Air Jamaica's In-Flight Magazine). While in Jamaica, Genet was invited to do Christmas cards for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), The Jamaica Association for the Deaf., hotels, corporations and various other charities. Her work has also been reproduced as note cards and prints.

Personal

Genet currently resides in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. While she continues to hold "Jamaica as her muse", in recent years she has been inspired by the uniquely charming architecture in and around the City of Asheville. And has been painting some of Asheville's favorite scenes.Asheville Citizen-Times
"COLLAGE: A fresh perspective on Asheville landmarks"
April 18, 2010.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genet, Rita Jamaican art Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Painters from Connecticut Artists from Rhode Island 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters University of Connecticut alumni School of Visual Arts alumni