Born in Houston, Texas, Forrest Solis grew-up in a Chicago suburb and attended the Chicago Academy of the Arts high school. Solis received her B.F.A. in 2001 from the Kansas City Art Institute and an M.F.A. in 2003 from Indiana University. While studying at Indiana University, she received the prestigious Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts Fellowship. Solis taught as Assistant Professor of Art at DePauw University, Indiana, until 2006 and is currently an Associate Professor and the Associate Director of Art at Arizona State University in Phoenix.
Solis’ paintings have been exhibited in numerous locations throughout the United States and have been reproduced/reviewed in several publications, including American Art Collector, Arts+Culture Magazine, Direct Art, and Studio Visit. Paintings by Forrest Solis are in the Kinsey Institute permanent collection and the Newt Walker collection, among others.
Forrest Solis answers her private residence with three large fluffy white furred dogs waiting to investigate my credibility. The dogs decide I am good to go and she invites me into her home. Set up like its own gallery with a strong collection of art by past students, her home is minimalist. We step into the backyard to her studio, a modular about five feet from her house. The studio has French doors that open to an immense collection of carefully arranged paintings. Current works in progress are arranged on easels and her paint palettes mimic the beautiful tones of her paintings. Like a temptress, Solis carefully selects her subjects as inspiration strikes her. She stands next to a painting of a firefighter’s back whom she approached in the checkout aisle of the grocery store. He was hesitant yet his curiosity peaked and he agreed. Another painting hangs high and adjacent a line of dolls. A woman’s legs are spread and between them reveal a dentata, painted from observing real teeth. Solis picks up the jar of teeth which she acquired from eBay and smiles for The Studio Archive portrait.
