BIO
Jessica Peña Heberle (b. 1981) is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Erie, PA.
She lives and works in Wilkinsburg, PA. Her art process includes painting, drawing, comics,
zines, writing, sculpture, art books, and found objects.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings depict figures interacting with natural settings such as bodies of water, forests, trees, and rock formations. In these spaces, figures within a given composition exist in an in-between state between intimacy and detachment. They are concerned with their corporeal self, their personal narrative, and the spaces they inhabit. Despite an undeniable synergy amongst the figures and myself these scenes, process such issues as anxiety, loneliness, violence, the body, redemption, and the power of the unconscious.
Because I too feel I inhabit liminal spaces, like the figures in my work, I remain flexible and fluid with how I approach each work. I use a variety of mediums for each piece which include watercolor, gouache, colored pencil and graphite on paper. My paintings and drawings are not planned but emerge from a space of not knowing. I thrive in a risky and vulnerable space in the studio where curiosity and expressive, obsessive mark making inform each piece. Layering multiple mediums to create texture and movement is a key component to my studio exploration and process.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024
Botanical Exhibition, at Mt. Lebanon Public Library, lower floor gallery (August 2024)
2023
Artist Association of Pittsburgh-New Member Exhibition, Brew House Association, Pittsburgh, PA
Survivors, A Conversation About Consent, Marketview Arts - York College, PA, Curated by Erica Gaimari
2019
Wild Things Group Exhibition, Casey Droege Cultural Productions Project Space, Curated by Carolyn Pierotti, Pittsburgh, PA
2017
Storytellers Group Exhibition, Percolate: Art Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Wall Paintings: Storytellers, Live Mural Exhibition, SPACE Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Wonder Woman: Visions, Group Exhibition, The Toonseum, Pittsburgh, PA
2016
Wading In Internal Landscapes, Solo Exhibition, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Backstage Gallery At Theater Square, Pittsburgh, PA
Raw Draw Live Painting and Gallery Show, Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Dream City Group Show, 1018 Penn Ave Gallery, Wilkinsburg, PA
2014
Wonder Women on Page and Off, The Toonseum, Group Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA
Uncovered Space Project, AIP Gallery, Group Exhibition, Pittsburgh,PA
2012
What is Your Myth, group show, The Zenith Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Clients I’ve worked:
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, The Andy Warhol Museum, Three Rivers Volkswagen, Coyne Advertising,
Ixtlan Artists Group, Amber Waves Farm, The Toonseum, Illustration Ale for The East End Brewery, and more.
Contact: For commissions or inquiries please contact me at: speaking4lines@gmail.com
Or use the contact form below!