Bio

Riley Sims is a painter based in Northeast Ohio. She received her MFA in Painting from Kent State University in 2026 and her BA in Painting from Ball State University in 2023. Her work investigates the relationship between the body, digital gesture, and painting through abstract acrylic paintings translated from intuitive finger drawings made on an iPad. Drawing from her experience living with a chronic illness, she uses digital technology as an accessibility tool, allowing adaptation, materiality, and unpredictability to shape both her process and the finished work.

Sims has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions, including her MFA thesis exhibition Swipe of a Finger at the Center for the Visual Arts at Kent State University (2026), the upcoming solo exhibition at Abrittor in Cleveland (2026), and the College Invitational at the Indianapolis Art Center (2025). She is the recipient of the Kent State Graduate Student Research Award (2025, 2026), and the Best in 2D Award at the College Invitational. Her work has been featured in Suboart Magazine, 101 Contemporary Artists and More (5th Edition), and Public Health Landscape.