Rising Stars: Meet Juliet Rofé of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juliet Rofé.

Hi Juliet, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I was fourteen, my dad made a discovery that would reshape both of our lives: his mechanic, Kevin Champeny, was an extraordinary artist. Convinced that talent like Kevin’s belonged in galleries rather than garages, my dad encouraged him to pursue art full-time and helped him make the leap.

Later that year, at a gallery showing in Chicago, I found myself in front of one of Kevin’s pieces: A Rose by Any Other Name, a work made entirely of (resin) candy. Beside it serendipitously sat a bowl of real, edible candies. On a whim, I asked my dad to film me pretending to take a bite of the artwork, palming a piece from the bowl instead. I told him it would go viral. It did.

That impulsive video turned out to be the start of a career I never planned. Two years later, I joined Kevin full-time as his social media manager, and over the years that followed I grew his audience from 10,000 followers to more than 1.6 million. As the platform expanded, I took over management of the business from my dad and launched my own YouTube channel, Girl Who Eats Art, dedicated to showcasing Kevin’s art. The channel quickly surpassed one million subscribers within its first year!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road! I’ve definitely been blessed by the social media virality gods, but nothing about my journey into the art world has been easy.

The biggest challenge early on was simply being taken seriously. I was a teenager stepping into the art world, and I had no background in it whatsoever: no formal art education, no industry connections, no real understanding of how galleries, collectors, or the business side of art actually worked. I was learning all of it from the ground up, often in real time, while also still in high school. There were plenty of rooms where people assumed I was too young to know what I was doing, and I had to let the results speak before the credibility followed.

Growing on social media was/is a behemoth challenge. Virality is exhilarating yet completely unpredictable. One video reaches hundreds of millions; the next, zero views. Early on I took every dip in engagement to heart. Over time I learned to stop chasing the algorithm and focus on consistency over perfection, but it’s still something I struggle with daily. Burnout is real, especially in the social media realm. You constantly have to push out new, viral content, and your failures are viewed by the entire world! That’s a lot of pressure on one person. That said, social media has been such a blessing for our business and brought in endless inquiries and interest in the art. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I manage contemporary mosaic artist Kevin Champeny. My role spans everything from running the day-to-day business, finding new gallery placements, following up on leads, working with interior designers, growing his entire digital presence, and so much more. Every day is unpredictable, and that’s what I love about my job!

What sets Kevin’s art apart is that he has reinterpreted the entire mosaic medium itself. Traditional mosaics are built from tile or glass, while Kevin builds his from thousands of tiny micro-sculptures that he sculpts, molds, and hand-casts in colored resin, then places one at a time. His “tiles” aren’t squares; they’re miniature gummy bears, flowers, skulls, candies, individual objects he creates from scratch.

A single piece can contain anywhere from 20,000 to over 80,000 individually cast components, with the larger works taking almost a year to complete. His tedious, obsessive process is a huge part of why the work captivates people worldwide, especially on video, where you can actually watch an image emerge from tens of thousands of tiny parts.

What really stands out is the way meaning is built into Kevin’s materials. Kevin is widely known for his political works where he recreates political portraits in a mosaic style. His most notable piece, “Defy This,” is a 10′ tall portrait of President Donald Trump composed of 10,000 middle finger sculptures. The discussions sparked from this work are fascinating. Some viewers believe the middle fingers are pointing at Trump, therefore forming one huge F U to the president. Others interpret the middle fingers as Trump’s attitude towards the world, his defiant nature being integral to his success. Conversations and interpretations like these are what makes the art so special. To have viewers look at the same piece and interpret something entirely different from one another is an incredible artistic feat.

How do you think about luck?
I’ve always believed in the old adage that “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” I’ve had a lot of good luck in my life, and I can attribute that to being ready to jump at any opportunity to come my way. When I started posting social media videos for Kevin, I wasn’t entirely taking a shot in the dark. I had been raised by a family of entrepreneurs and taught from a young age how to run and grow a business. I had an innate sense for marketing and storytelling and used those skills to create my first viral videos. I have, of course, also experienced “bad luck.” The art business can be mercurial, and being an entrepreneur is an oft unstable path. However, I have used my seasons of bad luck to learn about how to be a better business owner and operator and I am grateful for every challenge that’s come my way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kevinchampeny.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlwhoeatsart/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Girlwhoeatsart

Image Credits
Photography by Jonah Elkowitz and Terrell Lopez