Black Rock Desert Artist-in-Residence Program Exhibits in Winnemucca and Elko

Rachel Stiff is a painter, educator whose work will be on display as an artist in residence

Rachel Stiff is a painter, educator whose work will be on display as an artist in residence

WINNEMUCCA — The Bureau of Land Management, Black Rock Field Office, in partnership with Friends of Black Rock High Rock, will hold multiple art exhibits for the 2023 Artists in Residence.

• Winnemucca Exhibit & Reception – Humboldt Museum, 175 Museum Ave. Exhibit: now through Jan. 30, 2024

• Elko Exhibit & Reception – California Trail Interpretive Center, 1 Interpretive Way, Elko. Reception: Wednesday, Jan. 31 from 1 p.m.- 4 p.m. Exhibit: Jan.31-April 30, 2024.


Meet the 2023 Artists:

Rachel Stiff is a painter, educator, and former all-around cowgirl. Rachel holds an MFA from the University of Arizona in Tucson (2012) and a BFA from the University of Montana in Missoula (2009). 

Her work has been shown throughout the West, particularly in Nevada, where she is a Professor of Fine Art and Gallery Coordinator at Western Nevada College. Identifying as a true Westerner, her work examines the construction of the modern landscape and desert-urban interface through abstraction.

Luke Rizzotto is an artist working primarily in digital and emerging media. Originally from the New Orleans, Louisiana metro area, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts with a concentration in Computer Art in Animation from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2019. After graduating, he worked as an animator and designer as well as remaining active in the local art scene. In 2021, he was accepted and entered into the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is currently practicing and exploring new modes of art-making.

Titled Indefinite State, this exhibit will reflect “the ever-changing conditions of the Black Rock Desert and surrounding National Conservation Area, as evidenced through light, weather, climate change, and human activity.”

For further information, contact Kathy Torrence, BLM AiR Project Lead, at 775-623-1500 or ktorrence@blm.gov.