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René Shoemaker is a contemporary artist focused on silk painting. Born in New York City, she maintains studios in Athens, GA, USA and Aubusson, France. Spanning four decades and embracing a variety of mediums, her artwork highlights a sense of place while capturing the ways spaces work together and how people inhabit and interact with those spaces. Architecture and public places are often highlighted in her work.

René received a B.F.A. from the University of Georgia (UGA), building a career of painting with dyes to create flowing, colorful work on radiant silk glowing with light. After retiring from her profession as a university librarian at UGA, René continued refining her art and sharing her techniques while discovering new ways to describe the world we collectively share.

Exhibiting in solo and group shows internationally, Shoemaker delights in exploring our everyday experiences through color and line. René has exhibited in museums in Georgia, Mississippi, and Paris and in galleries and public spaces in Georgia, New York, the UK, and France. Her solo exhibitions include museums in Georgia and Mississippi, where her work is held in permanent collections. Shoemaker was awarded the Fiber Forward Focus Fellowship from AIR Serenbe in Georgia, and 2024 exhibits are now scheduled in San Francisco, and Paris, and she will lead workshops in Athens, GA, San Francisco, CA and in a castle in southwest France.