Jessica Rankin’s Sydney debut at Cassandra Bird Gallery

Sydney-born, New York-based artist Jessica Rankin opened her highly anticipated debut solo exhibition in Sydney, Notes from an Earlier Sky, at Cassandra Bird Gallery on 19 March 2025. This exhibition marks an important milestone in Rankin’s career, coinciding with her participation in The Intelligence of Painting at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, which opened on 20 March.

Known for her poetic and tactile work, Rankin’s Notes from an Earlier Sky presents a major body of hand-embroidered paintings. Drawing from topographical, cosmological and psychological influences, Rankin’s latest works explore the connection between past and present, offering a deeply personal reflection on time, memory and place. Through her distinctive embroidery techniques, she creates multilayered narratives that invite viewers to contemplate the intersection of personal history and the larger forces that shape our world.

Rankin is the daughter of celebrated Australian poet and playwright Jennifer Rankin and renowned artist David Rankin, and the show reflect Rankin’s engagement with her mother’s work.

“The title is a reference to a poem by my mother the poet Jennifer Rankin,” says Rankin. “She has a line in one of her poems that reads ‘Silk-screened to an earlier sky’. I loved that image as it spoke to so many parts of her work. She wrote about her environment, her body in relation to the natural world, memory and also she was in conversation with my father who is an artist and a printmaker. The shift in language makes it more reflective of me and my work. I have been very deeply engaging with my mother’s legacy as well as thinking of where this work will live — in my birth country. The imagery in the work carries many of the phrases from my mother’s poetry through the prism and ongoing exploration of my painting practice. Images of sky, air currents, landscape, plant life. All these ideas and structures swirl together in the work.”

This exhibition, set in the city of her birth, also marks a poignant return for the artist, reconnecting her with both her personal roots and her artistic beginnings.

“It is incredibly moving and profound to be showing the work in Sydney,” she says. “My earliest memories are from life here and even though I have lived overseas for so long I feel a deep sense of connection and kinship when I am home. There are times where I feel pretty alienated from the professionalism of the contemporary art world — it can feel like artists are always being groomed to be more polished or more fashion or more consumable somehow. The art world here feels simultaneously both very relaxed and very engaged, which is a wonderful combination. I have enjoyed every minute of it!”

In addition to her solo exhibition, Rankin’s work is also currently on display at the MCA as part of The Intelligence of Painting, a landmark show celebrating the work of Australian women painters.

“Having a work up at the MCA in The Intelligence of Painting has been a wonderful gift of community with other artists,” she says. “The show itself is a real stunner. The range of form and interests, the diversity of the painting is fascinating and then the installation of this cacophony of different voices in one space is a true feat. For me it is especially exciting to be able to connect with a community of Australian artists. Spending time with other artists, being in community, hearing of their concerns, ideas, focusses, desires — these are the moments that feed me as a person and an artist.”

Having exhibited at renowned venues such as MoMA PS1 in New York, the Studio Museum in Harlem, White Cube in Hong Kong and the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Rankin’s work continues to captivate international audiences. Her poetic approach to visual storytelling has earned her acclaim around the world, and Notes from an Earlier Sky is expected to be no different.

Visit the Cassandra Bird Gallery website for more information.