BIO

René West’s photographs have appeared in over 100 exhibitions in museums and galleries, in solo, two-person, and group shows across the United States. She has recently formed West Penland Alliance with Mark Penland and together they are generating AI images and creating digital composites out of the images. They were inspired to join forces after an artist residency at the Mystery Ranch hosted by United Catalyst: Desert Alliance. During the pandemic, West created over 450 still-life photographs with a cellphone and posted them daily on social media. Since 2007, she has taken photographs of city walls in over 25 states and describes her obsession as part treasure hunter, part anthropologist, and part archeologist sifting through the layers of contemporary culture. Regardless of the project, her work relies on collage, juxtaposition, and visual metaphor. When she is not chasing images, West is an Associate Professor of Photography at Amarillo College, curates photography exhibitions for the Southern Light Gallery, and serves on the Photography Society for the Amarillo Museum of Art. She also likes to write songs and play guitar and ukulele. Sometimes, you can still find her out on the high plains howling at the moon.

ARTIST CV (PDF)