Libby Schoettle
Libby Schoettle is a NYC artist originally from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She attended Gettysburg College, Philadelphia University and graduated with honors from Hunter College.
Libby’s alter ego character PhoebeNewYork first came to life in collages created with found objects, including vintage photographs, magazine pages, clothing, as well as old books, record covers, reproduced prints on paper, and the occasional iconic pop art element. The artist is drawn to materials that have been owned and handled by others, materials that have been touched over time and that will remain intact over time (or not). As a perfectionist, Libby uses her art to fight against her own flaws, and to find beauty in the mistaken. She often chooses to make her collages from materials that “have lived an imperfect life,” as evidenced by wrinkles, bumps, spots and tears. She uses archival glue and mattes to attach her works.
From the streets of New York City to Philadelphia, L.A., London, and Berlin, NYC-based artist Libby Schoettle reveals her own vulnerability, raw emotions, and witty observations through her alter-ego PhoebeNewYork‘s dark and funny explorations into love, feminism, political independence, and finding beauty in the mistaken. Unique street art iterations of Phoebe—a paper doll-like character collaged together with pieces of vintage photographs, fashion magazine pages, Xerox pages, clothing, old books, and pop art—can be spotted on buildings, street lamps, and city scaffolding, donning phrases like “Rebel,” “Fear Nothing,” “Don’t Look Back” and “Be Confident” on her cutout couture.
Libby and Phoebe have been featured in publications such as Vogue, New York Magazine’s The Cut, Teen Vogue, Time Out New York, Glamour Italia, BlackBook Media, Glamour Espana, Philadelphia Style, Il Fotografo, JeJune, Nylon, Downtown, and Vestal Magazine; they have also been the subject of fashion collaborations with Victoria Beckham Beauty, Dr. Marten’s, Sonia Rykiel, Lululemon, rag & bone, Delmonico’s, and Bonnie Young (BY.). Libby has spoken at institutions such as: Christie’s Education, NYU, and City College of New York. Her work can also be found in the form of merchandise at the Whitney Shop, and look out for the creator and her alter ego in an upcoming docu-series by Canobie Films that is slated to air in 2025. Take part in their journey on Instagram at @phoebenewyork and at www.libbyschoettle.com
Recent Press
Vogue | Phoebe—A Street Art Star in New York—Has Landed a Museum Show in Denmark
by Laird Borrelli-Persson
“Phoebe’s face, if not her name, will be familiar to those who spend a time in downtown Manhattan. Since 2015 this round-faced, sassy, highly opinionated, and somewhat neurotic sprite has held court, illegally, on lamp posts and such. She’s always dressed to the nines, and is never at a loss for words.
…
Phoebe is the brainchild of Schoettle, who describes her creation as her alter-ego. “It’s very important for me to recognize her as that because she does the things that I’m afraid of, and I am able to put into her things that inspire me, that are in turn inspiring other people,” the artist said on a call. This give and take is more than personal, it’s part and parcel of street art, which is essentially an interactive game of hide and seek played by the artist and viewer.
…
“My Paper World” will trace the development of Phoebe, underlining the personal experience of the artist, and the transition of her character from desk to lamppost, where curator Julie Horne Møller first encountered Phoebe.
EDUCATION
Gettysburg College
Philadelphia University, Fashion
Hunter College, BA Film Production
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 West Chelsea Contemporary
2021 Horsens Museum, Denmark solo show
2020 Solo street art/cut out installation “take over” inside the former Abercrombie Store at the Seaport
2019 212 Arts, NY
2018 Gallery 181, TO
2018 212 Arts, NY
2007 Meredith Ward Fine Art, NY
EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
2023 Whitney Museum Shop Pop-Up Show – NYC, NY
2023 Concrete to Canvas – Austin, Texas
2022 LearningSpring School charity auction
2022 Grace Church School charity auction
2022 West Chelsea Contemporary – First Impressions
2021 West Chelsea Contemporary – From Concrete to Canvas
2021 Together We Art Charity
2021 Art on Paper
2020 Galerie Zberro group show
2019 Featured in the Soho Village Frieze Week Art Walk: “Finding Phoebe”
2019 Artist profile in Jejuene Magazine
2019 Street Art collaboration with Victoria Beckham Beauty: “VB meets Phoebe” in NYC
2019 Most Illegal Art Show
2019 Elevation Worldwide Her·o·ism Art Series Panelist
2019 Downtown Magazine NYC’s Top 100 Wonder Women
2019 Large-scale (10.5 feet) art installation at rag & bone on Elizabeth and Houston Street, NYC
2019 Guest Speaker and Artist (providing artworks) at Delmonico’s 151st Anniversary Ladies POWER Lunch
2018 Saint Francis Hospital Foundation Annual Gala: Auction, NYC
2018 NYU Guest Speaker, NYC
2018 Paddle8 Art and Design Auction, NYC
2018 Christie’s Education, Guest Speaker, NYC
2018 Glamour Magazine Art Charity, Spain
2018 The Other Art Fair, London
2018 “Art + Cocktails at Chefs for Kids’ Cancer – NYC / Childhood Cancer Foundation”
2018 RIDE FOR MONGOLIA CUSTOM SKATECUSTOM EXHIBITION
2017 “The Kitchen Benefit Art Auction”
2017 Portico NY, Inc. “Streets of NY”
2017 CUSP NYC “Make Room”
2017 STATION 16 PROJEKROOM AND VILLAGE BUNKR “NYC meets MTL. Toile Blanche.”
2017 Dorian Grey at the International Urban Art Fair
2017 Frantiques Photo Gallery
2017 ACLU Benefit Auction
2017 Medair Charity Auction
2017 212 Arts NY, NY
2016-7 PhoebeNewYork art displayed in the window of the Soho lululemon store (a 6-month residence)
2016 Fillin Global NY, NY
2015 Space Sixteen, NY, NY
2013 Art Aqua, Miami, FL
2012 LOOC ART in Southampton, NY
2011 Art Show Bedford, Bedford, NY
2009 Claudio Zanetti, NY, NY