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.
Selected Works
Jessica Rankin
Sky Earth, 2026
Acrylic and embroidery on linen
182,9 × 243,8 × 3,8 cm
Jessica Rankin
“Small Susurrations” (AL) Ada Limón, 2026
Acrylic and embroidery on linen
152,5 × 213,3 × 3,8 cm
Jessica Rankin
You’ve turned to covet a ghost, 2022
Recto: acrylic and embroidery
Verso: watercolor, graphite and embroidery
30,2 × 30,2 cm
Jessica Rankin
Wind From Stone, 2026
Acrylic and embroidery on linen
121,9 × 121,9 × 3,8 cm
Jessica Rankin
Ride the dark curve of the earth toward day light, 2022
Recto: acrylic and embroidery
Verso: watercolor, graphite and embroidery
45,5 × 61 cm
Jessica Rankin
Fog Steps Closer, DS, 2024 Acrylic, embroidery on linen 121 × 121 cm
Jessica Rankin
Dream Variations, 2023
Acrylic, pencil, embroidery on linen
91 × 91 cm
Jessica Rankin
Field of Mars, 2016
embroidery on organdy
131,5 × 172,3 cm
Jessica Rankin
The Great Other, 2015
Ink, graphite and collage on paper
213,3 × 212 cm
Upcoming Exhibition
c|g Exhibitions
The Weight of Light | Berlin
14.03.–20.06.2026
Dreamwork of Trees | Berlin
11.03.–15.04.2023
An Everywhere of Light | Madrid
02.12.2021–12.02.2022
There and Not There | Berlin
16.03.–18.04.2019
Struggling With Words That Count | Berlin
01.11.2016–04.03.2017
Field of Mars | Berlin
13.02.–19.03.2016
Lacunae | Berlin
27.04.–01.06.2013
Revenant | Berlin
12.06.–31.07.2010
How would you light heaven? | Berlin
08.12.2004
