Biography
Jessie Rebik is a figurative photo-realistic painter who primarily works in oil paint. She received her BFA from Clarke College (Dubuque, IA) and her MFA from Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL). She spent almost twenty years as an art professor teaching drawing, painting, color theory, 2D design, professional development, and more. Recently, she shifted to the Program Development role at Bluff Strokes Art Center in Dubuque, IA. Here, she continues to teach a wide variety of art classes to students of all experience levels, as well as develop curriculum to meet the community needs and interests.
Her work has been exhibited nationally in galleries, museums and art festivals, featured in several art publications, and collected nationally and internationally. Her paintings have been awarded honors in several juried exhibitions and have been represented by commercial galleries in Arizona and Florida.
She currently lives in Galena, IL with her husband, their two sons, and two cats.
Professional Development
Senior Performance Capstone
First Year Seminar
Drawing for Beginners
Beginning Painting in Oil
The Power of Color
The Power of Composition
AWARDS/HONORS:
2023 Open Educational Resource Grant, Iowa Private Academic Libraries, $7,475
2007 Ragdale Foundation Residency, Lake Forest, IL
LECTURES/PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOPS
2025 Defining Your Artist Identity Workshop, Bluff Strokes Art Center, Dubuque, IA
Photorealism Workshop, Bluff Strokes Art Center, Dubuque, IA
2023 Gesture Drawing Session, Clarke Art+Design High School Workshop, Dubuque, IA
Reverse Value Portrait Session, Clarke Art+Design High School Workshop, Dubuque, IA
2018 The Evolution of Street Art Lecture, Street Art Workshop, Voices, Dubuque, IA
Mural Techniques, Clarke Art + Design High School Workshops, Dubuque, IA
2017 Dubuque Main Street Cultural Corridor Benefits Arts Education presentation, Dubuque Main Street, Dubuque, I
2012 Beyond Google: Visual Research Challenge, FATE Panel Presentation, St. Louis, MO
EXHIBITIONS
2024 43rd Rock Island Artist Guild Juried Exhibition, group exhibition, Feb-June, 2024, Figge Museum, Davenport, IA, Awarded Honorable Mention
2023 Small Works Juried Exhibition, group exhibition, Feb.-Mar., Rice Gallery, Oakland Park, KS, Awarded Second Place
Ephemerality Juried Exhibition, group exhibition, April, STRAATA Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial Juried Exhibition, group exhibition, June-Oct, Dubuque, IA
2022 Clarke Faculty Exhibition, October, Quigley Gallery, Dubuque, IA
2018 How Rare, 175 Years of Art + Design group exhibition, October, Quigley Gallery, Dubuque,IA
2017 The Artist Revealed: Two Centuries of Portraits from Cezanne to Dylan (Group Exhibition), Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA
2015 Faculty Exhibition (Group Exhibition), Quigley Gallery, Dubuque, IA
Small Works (Group Exhibition), Baker + Hesseldenz Gallery, Tuscon, AZ
Portrait Show (Group Exhibition), Baker + Hesseldenz Gallery, Tuscon, AZ
Art Palm Beach, with JF Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL
2013 Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial Juried Exhibit, Dubuque, IA.
Gallery Representation, JF Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL
2012 Tapped (Group Exhibition), Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Rebik/Fortuna (two person exhibition), Outside the Lines Gallery, Dubuque IA.
Rock Island 36th Annual Fine Arts Exhibition (Juried Exhibition), Augustana College, Rock Island, IL.
Pictures of Nothing Juried Exhibition (Juried Exhibition), JF Gallery, Palm Beach, FL. Awarded “Best in Show”.
The National Art Online Exhibition (Juried Exhibition), Academy of the Fine Arts, Lynchburg, VA.
2011 Figurative Invitational Exhibit (group), Quigley Gallery, Dubuque, IA.Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial Juried Exhibit, Dubuque, IA.
2010 PAINT Exhibition (group), Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH.
Figuratively Speaking Exhibition (group), Palm Beach State College, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Thirty-fourth Rock Island Fine Art Exhibit (juried), Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, Awarded “Best in Show”.
2009 Voices at the Warehouse Exhibit (Group),Dubuque, IA.
Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial Juried Exhibit, Dubuque, IA. Awarded Third Place
2008 Clarke College Faculty Exhibit (Group), Brio Gallery, Galena, IL,
Rock Island Annual Juried Exhibit (Group), Augustana College Art Museum, Rock Island, IL.Honorable Mention Award.
2007 New Work (Solo), Quigley Gallery, Dubuque, IA.
Disillusioned (Group), Schmidt Gallery, Boca Raton, FL.
CONTINUED EDUCATION:
2024 Hector Acuna Workshop, Plein Air and Studio Workshop, Dubuque, IA
Zoey Frank Virtual Painting Workshop Breaking the Surface: Exploring The History of Pictorial Space (parts I and II)
Dina Brodsky virtual course Instagram for Artists
2023 Steve Puttrich Workshop Sharpening Your Plein Air Tools, Dubuque, IA
2022 Zoey Frank Virtual Painting Workshop Painting Change: Still Life in Motion
Chronical of Higher Education Chronical Festival: Reconnecting to Students, and Reconnecting to Community, virtual
Steven Assael Webinar Imagination and Composition- Drawing in Preparation for Multi-Figure Painting
2021-22 Iowa Artist Professional Development Program Participant:
Promoting Your Work / Social Media
Business Management
Financial Planning
Grantseeking
Approaching Galleries and Museums
Publishing Your Work
2021 Zoey Frank Self Portrait from Observation Online Workshop
FATE (Foundations of Art Theory and Education) Virtual Conference: Infrastructure
Course on Contemporary Art: Subjecthood in Painting Today, Whitney Museum Public Programs, virtual
2020 Zoey Frank Online Sketchbook Workshop Part 1: Multiple Figure Composition, Studies of Historical Paintings
Zoey Frank Online Sketchbook Workshop Part 2: After Modernism, Building Your Own Composition
2018 Street Art Workshop, Dubuque IA
2017 Painting: Transcending the Photo Reference, Wausau, WI, taught by Alyssa Monks
Beyond the Core, FATE 16th Biennial Conference, Kansas City, MO
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Featured in iARTistas #7, iBook, May, 2013
Featured artist on Artistaday.com, March 30, 2013
Photorealistic Paintings from Manipulated Photos By Jessica Rebik, Juxtapose Online Magazine, March 28, 2013
Artist Statement
As I move through stages of life, painting provides a method to search for meaning within my complicated and ever changing world. I observe and respond to the cultural forces that shape my identity, self consciousness, insecurity, fear, and shame.
My primary source of imagery is photography. I investigate personal photographs for clues to significant moments and fragments of insight. These photo documentation of lives—past and present—contain signifiers embedded in their distortions and framing. I select photos that feel immediate and are encountered through passive swiping on a screen. In contrast, painting is hand-made, singular, and intended to be experienced in physical form. The tension between the quick, often impulsive act of taking a photograph and the time-intensive, deliberate process of painting reveals meaning that might otherwise go unnoticed. This approach allows for deeper investigation of both the casual and monumental moments that shape our lives. Ultimately I hope the work conveys insights into the forces that influence our experience, beliefs, emotions, perceptions, and decisions.
My most recent work explores the demands, challenges and joy of raising two boys. I am interested in the tension between my conflicting emotions and desires throughout this experience. The paintings are the expression of my attempt to observe and understand the complexities of motherhood. This includes the overarching pressures from both societal and personal expectations of raising boys in our current rapidly changing culture.
Select CV
EDUCATION:
2007 M.F.A. Painting, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
2002 B.F.A. Painting, Summa Cum Laude Clarke College, Dubuque, IA, 2002
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
2025-Present Program Director, Bluff Strokes Art Center, Dubuque, IA
2007-2025 Associate Professor of Art, Clarke University, Dubuque, IA,
2006-2007 Instructor of Record, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
COURSES TAUGHT:
Studio Art for Non-Majors
Drawing I
Design
Painting I-V
Mural Painting
Life Drawing I-III
Color Fundamentals