Artist: Gerri Rachins

The Zillman Art Museum (ZAM) presents Gerri Rachins: Selected Works on Paper, 2008–2025, an exhibition by Gerri Rachins, who splits time between studios in Boston and Cape Cod. It has been a great pleasure to curate this exhibition and collaborate with this accomplished and prolific artist in developing the show. Museum visitors are provided a glimpse of the artist’s varied creative practice through these selected works of art.

My initial introduction to Rachins’ work was in 2013 when the museum presented I-95 Triennial, an exhibition surveying contemporary artists working in five New England states. Rachins was represented by three large-scale drawings, one of which is now in the ZAM permanent collection. In 2025, I was delighted to view her exhibition Getting From One Place to Another, which featured a beautiful selection of paintings at The Painting Center in New York City. The ZAM exhibition includes several works from the NYC exhibition.

This exhibition provides a look into two distinct but connected aspects of Rachins’ creative process. Works defined primarily as drawing- focused occupy their own space, while colorful paintings on paper fill other galleries. The two creative approaches are connected. The flow of the fluid color in the paintings provides structure not unlike that of the mechanics of drawing.

The large-scale drawings are created, in part, by Rachins’ experimentation with suspended graphite moving about the paper in a pendulum-style manner. Marks coalesce into forms that the artist identifies, accentuates, and in some of the compositions further defines through color.

The focal point of Rachins’ most recent creative output is dynamic paintings on paper, rich with vivid color and implied depth. Both controlled and spontaneous pours of fluid acrylic ink create rich layers and intersecting passages in the abstract compositions. Surfaces are built further through the addition of Flashe vinyl paint, gouache, and colored pencil.

Now in its 80th Anniversary season, the Zillman Art Museum continues to introduce audiences to the finest contemporary artists working today. This exhibition of Gerri Rachins’ work contributes to the celebration and reaffirmation of this institution’s mission. As evidenced by this striking assortment of works, the artist continues to advance the landscape of contemporary art through her vision, fearless experimentation, and varied creative process.

George Kinghorn
Executive Director and Curator
Zillman Art Museum—University of Maine