Mirena Rhee

Mirena Rhee is a Multiplanetary and Video Game artist working in painting, installation, performance, and 3D.

She currently paints Mars inspired by the images, sounds, and discoveries of NASA's exploration missions and SpaceX’s endeavor to make life multiplanetary.

Mirena builds participatory works that invite the public to paint. She collaborated closely with Anita Durst and Chashama and produced participatory installations that turn audiences into co-authors. Her public projects have appeared on Times Square, Union Square, the World Trade Center, the Armory Show, Chelsea, Governors Island, Dumbo, and in Leicester Square in London. She created a series of Giant Hands works in Beacon, in Central Park, and on Broadway in New York City.

Her practice draws on years of making 3D worlds for Lucasfilm and Activision on Star Wars, Iron Man, and X-Men. She was personally recognized by George Lucas for her contributions to Star Wars.

Mirena works with natural resins and pigments in layered Old Masters techniques, and with ink on cotton rag. She also creates animations and augmented reality pieces that extend the work into public space.

Her work is held by the White House, NASA, Elon Musk, Anita Durst, and Dennis Overbye, as well as by public and private collections worldwide.

Mirena has a Master's degree in Architecture and began making installations as an architecture student in Sofia, where she and fellow students floated a giant balloon work over Ariana Lake. After designing theatrical sets, she received a full scholarship and research assistantship to attend the University of Cincinnati School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. There she worked as a 3D artist at the CERHAS lab, began creating 3D work for commercial clients and started a thesis on Cyber Architecture. In 2000, she moved to Silicon Valley to work on Video Games, and in 2010, she moved to New York City to develop participatory and hands-on works.