Jessica Rankin

Lives and works in New York

Jessica Rankin creates expansive maps of landscapes dotted with codes, signs, and symbols that refer to the processes of memory, intuition, and interpretation. Mountain ranges, constellations, thermodynamic readings, lines of stream-of-consciousness text, and neurological signals morph, merge, and stretch across her embroideries and works on paper. Expansive and intuitive, Rankin’s works are also often marked by swathes of vibrant colour that appear as stains, splotches, or coiling lines. These exuberant compositions spill over to the sides of the canvas, which reveal intricately threaded lines of poetry by writers such as Etel Adnan, Paul Celan, Carl Phillips, Kamilah and Aisha Moont whose writings have inspired Rankin’s work.

She had a two person exhibition with Julie Mehretu entitled Earthfold at Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Belgium in 2016. Selected solo exhibitions include SCAD, Atlanta; PS1 Contemporary Arts Center, New York; and Franklin Artworks, Minneapolis. She is featured in public collections such as Saatchi Gallery, London and Touchstones, Rochdale, UK.

 

 

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