Biography:
Riva Sweetrocket was born in Oregon in 1969 and has been drawing and painting since she could walk. Her father is an architect and her mother is a poet and short fiction writer, having published 10 books to date. Sweetrocket grew up surrounded by literary and artistic talent and success. She received a BA in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1994 but abandoned the field shortly thereafter for her true love: art. Sweetrocket has received numerous awards and artistic recognition from a very young age. Although she has had extensive art course work, Sweetrocket is essentially self-taught as an artist. She has been working in pastel on paper since 1998 and her huge iconic images have the feel of oil paintings.

My work is very connected to my personal experience. Most pieces are narrative in nature. I often portray beautiful, fantastic or spirited elements encountering struggle, passion, hidden desires or challenge. Painting allows me to convey emotions, feelings and ideas I find difficult to express in words. My work is about the beauty and the insanity within each of us that we too often conceal.

Solo & Two Person Exhibitions:
2008 Plus Gallery, Handle With Care, Denver, CO
2007 Canyon Gallery, Bravery of Being, Boulder, CO
2006 Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Testify, Denver, CO
2004 Zing Gallery, Food Objects, 21st Century, Boulder, CO
2003 Andrew J. Macky Gallery, Delicate, Dangerous, Boulder, CO
2002 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Riva Sweetrocket, New Works in Pastel, Boulder, CO

Selected Group Exhibitions:
2008 Access Gallery, Remembrance: Visual Expressions of Loss and Love, Denver, CO
2007 New Mexico State University, Art 5 ~ Warhol Regional Invitational Exhibition, Las Cruces, NM
2007 Capsule Gallery, Heaven on Earth, Denver, CO
2007 Plus Gallery, Surprise!, Denver, CO
2007 Foothills Art Center, REALationships: Works of Surreal Inspiration, invitational, Golden, CO
2007 Weilworks, Colleagues, invitational, Denver, CO
2006 Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, The Dog & Pony Show, invitational, Denver, CO
2006 Weilworks, The Making of Dust, invitational, Denver, CO
2005 Studio Aiello, Come Together, Denver, CO
2004 ZINO Contemporary, Grand Opening Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
2004 Studio Aiello, Group Show 2, juried biennial, Denver, CO
2003 Gallery Sovereign, December Art Exhibit, Boulder, CO
2003 Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Avant Garden, invitational, Boulder, CO
2003 University Memorial Center Gallery, Conflict. Resolution., juried group show, Boulder, CO
2003 R. L. Foster Gallery, Art for Designers, juried group show, Denver, CO
2002 Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 30th Anniversary Art Auction, invitational, Boulder, CO
2002 Children’s Hospital, Stock Show, invitational, Denver, CO
2000 Core New Artspace, Wide Open Whatever, juried group show, Denver, CO
2000 Flux Gallery, Reply Hazy, Try Again–20 Artists Respond to the Magic 8-Ball, Denver, CO

Awards:
Heaven on Earth People's Choice Award, Best in Show, Comfort Food, 2007
Westword’s Best of Denver 2006, Best Drawing Show, Testify, Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities
The Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100 Competition, 4th Place, Secret World, 2004

Collections:
City of Aurora
Denver Children's Hospital
First Western Trust Bank
Delta Dental
Flashpoint Academy/Howard & Judith Tullman, Chicago, IL
Numerous private collections

Publications, Articles and Reviews:
Nexus Colorado's Holistic Journal, Cover Art, May/June, 2008
The Denver Post, Riva Sweetrocket's Deft Touch Blends Magic and Realism, March, 2008
Nexus Colorado's Holistic Journal, Cover Art, September/October, 2007
5280 Magazine, Artist to Watch, October, 2007
Rocky Mountain News, Spotlight, Pastels with a Purpose, February 2007
Square One magazine, cover art and various paintings published, spring 2006
Westword, Art Beat, Testify review, February 2006
Penguin’s Book of Women’s Poetry, Iranian translation, Cover art: Return to the Eternal, 2004
The Arts Paper, “Delicate and Dangerous: The Visual Play of Riva Sweetrocket”, October 2003
Iran News, “The Joy and Anxiety of Artistic Creation: Interview with Riva Sweetrocket”, June 2003
Colorado Daily, “Majesty Challenged”, August 2002

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