Bio

Gena Celesti, an accomplished artist from Southwest Ohio, skillfully creates masterpieces using oil and acrylic paints. Her artistic journey is marked by a deliberate choice to step away from the overwhelming digital landscape, choosing instead to immerse herself in the tangible world around her. This focus on the interplay of light and values is evident in her realism pieces, which are crafted through years of study, practice and observation.

Her professional background in marketing has evolved over several decades. Gena now serves as the marketing director for a Swedish owned company in Cincinnati. Gena shares, "I immersed myself in art classes early on in my formative years. It wasn't until much later that I reignited my passion for painting, initially starting with acrylics. The transition to oils was rekindled and challenged by a fellow master oil painter in weekly life drawing sessions she was attending.

Noteworthy affiliations have included memberships to esteemed organizations such as Oil Painters of America (OPA), National Oil & Acrylic Painters' Society (NOAPS), and local to her state, the Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS), and Women’s Art Club of Hamilton (WACH).

Juried Exhibitions, Gallery Shows, Awards, and Events

2024 Fitton Center and Strauss Gallery Group Show (WACH)
2023 German Village Plein-Air Artist, Hamilton, Ohio (WACH)
2022 Fitton Center and Strauss Gallery Group Show (WACH)
2021 Middletown Arts Center Annual Area Art Exhibition
2022 Annual Ohio Plein-Air Society Competition
2021 Annual Ohio Plein-Air Society Competition
2021 Heritage Village Paint Out 2021 - South West Ohio Plein-Air painters (SWOPA), and Cincinnati Art Club
2021 National Oil and Acrylic Painter Society Award of Excellence
2017 Art Kudos Juried Online Exhibition
2015 Middletown Art Center Juried Exhibition