My work references the mystical aspects of nature, landscapes, and built environments. I am interested in how we inhabit and move in these spaces, and how we remember them—culturally, spiritually, and historically. I think too about emotional memory; how a place made us feel when we first encountered it, and the connections we bring to that experience.

My creative ritual begins with a morning walk. I think of myself as an explorer, collector, and synthesizer. Sometimes I collect physical things like little pieces of wood or rusty bits of metal, and other detritus. I note visual references, like seasonal colors and light, plants, birds, natural and urban landscapes and decay.

In the studio, I play with colors usually inspired by what I absorbed on my walk. For me studio time is a multidimensional, unconscious channeling of past and future into the present. It’s where everything intersects; memory and materials fuse with color and form. I have a shelf that runs the length of my studio. On it, I place pieces of found wood, painted panels , and partial constructions, and whatever other materials I might like to draw from. This is my play area and sketchbook where ideas and imagery take shape.

When I begin a piece, I generally don't follow a blueprint or plan, just a vague framework that allows for changes. I let the material tell me how it wants to go, feeling for the natural physical logic of things, and trying to always stay open to what is developing. There will be parts I like or dislike, and changing them affects the quality of the other parts. It's a constant balancing act. My use of found materials (or repurposed as art) are remnants of a specific place and time. Art making, for me, is a journal, a diary of personal and delicate temporal reflections. In the end, what I want to share with the viewer is an experience that they can enter from their own perspective — a memory, a mood, a place they have been, or one they may visit in the future.

Rachel Maxi works and lives in Seattle, Washington

You can follow Rachel Maxi and her eye on Instagram

CV

Solo Exhibitions

2025 ‘Temporal Reflections,’ Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

2024 ‘Cosmic Sculpture Garden,’ Vashon Center for the Arts Gallery, Vashon, WA

2022 i.e. Gallery, Edison, WA

2020 ‘Divine Mind,’ i.e. Gallery, Edison, WA

2019 Art X Agent, Waitsburg, WA

2018 Imogen Gallery, Astoria, WA

2014 Zinc Art, Seattle, WA

2012 ‘Considering the Oyster,’ SugarPill, Seattle, WA

2013 Amo Art, Waitsburg, WA

2010 G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle, WA

2009 Grey Gallery, Seattle, WA; Some Space, Seattle, WA

2008 Phyllis Stein, Los Angeles, CA; Some Space, Seattle, WA

2006 Baas Gallery, Seattle, WA

2005 Marghitta Feldman Gallery, Portland, OR

2004 Artemis Gallery, Seattle, WA,

2002 Artemis Gallery, Seattle, WA,

1994 Heart to Art Gallery, Seattle, WA

1993 Cunningham Hall at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Group Exhibitions

2026 ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once,’ Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

2025 ‘Make Yourself at Home,’ Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

2024 ‘Embodiment,’ AMcE Creative Arts, Seattle, WA

2023 ‘Small Works,’ Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

‘Spotlight,’ Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge, WA

2022 The En, Seattle, WA

Orcas Paley, Seattle, WA

2021 i.e. Gallery: Staff Picks, Edison, WA

Orcas Paley, Seattle, WA

2019 Orcas Paley, Seattle, WA

2018 Studio e, Seattle, WA

2016 Seattle Painting Now Survey, Seattle, WA

2015 Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

2013 Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle, WA

2012 G. Gibson, Elles, Seattle, WA

2010 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA

2007 ‘Gathering,’ Vermillion Gallery, Seattle, WA

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA

2004 City Space Gallery, Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Seattle, WA

Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA

2003 Davidson Gallery, Seattle, WA

Lava Lounge, Paintings on Velvet, Curated by Larry Reid, Seattle, WA

2000 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA

Stage Gallery, Merrick, NY

Lead Gallery, Seattle, WA

1999 Horsehead, a collection of site-specific work located at the former Sandpoint Naval

Station, Magnuson Park, Seattle, WA

1994 CoCA, Northwest Annual Seattle, WA

1992 In Situ Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

1991 In Situ Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

Art Fairs

2026 Palm Springs Modernism Show, Strobel Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

2024 Seattle Art Fair, AMcE Creative Arts, Seattle, WA

Maxi 2026 Resume 2/4 www.rachelmaxi.com2022 Seattle Art Fair, i.e. Gallery, Seattle, WA

Residencies

2022 Jentel Foundation, one month residency, Banner, WY

2021 Willapa Bay AIR, one month artist in residence, Oysterville, WA

Joshua Tree Highlands, six-week solo artist in residence, Joshua Tree, CA

2020 PLAYA, one month artist in residence, Summer Lake, OR

2018 Green Olive Arts, one month artist in residence, Tetouan, Morocco

Awards

2024 GAP Grant, Artist Trust, Seattle, WA

2023 Bainbridge Island Art Museum, one painting selected for spotlight juried exhibition,

Bainbridge, WA

2013 Purchase Award, City of Seattle, Seattle, WA

2006 GAP Grant, Artist Trust, Seattle, WA

2005 Purchase Award, City of Seattle, Seattle, WA

2004 Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA

Public Art Commission, Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Seattle, WA

2003 Purchase Award, City of Seattle, Seattle, WA

2002 Emerging Public Artist Roster, Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Seattle, WA

Publications

2024 Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, Elizabeth Shepherd

2020 Cascade Weekly, Stephen Hunter

2019 Waitsburg Times Review and Interview by Briana Wray

2018 Coast Radio Interview, Astoria, OR

2010 ‘Seattle Painter finds art in the Humble Dumpster,’ Seattle Times, Michael Upchurch

2006 ‘Empty Landscapes full of Meaning,’ Seattle PI, Regina Hacket

‘Best Exhibits at Galleries,’ Seattle PI, Regina Hacket

2004 ‘In the Galleries,’ Seattle PI, Regina Hacket

‘Exploring the Legacy of Discovery,’ Seattle PI, Regina Hacket

‘Discovery Doesn’t End,’ Tacoma News Tribune, Jen Graves

Catalogue Publication: Lewis and Clark Territory, Contemporary Artists Revisit Place,

Race, and Memory, Rock Huska, published by Tacoma Art Museum in

association with University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA and London, UK

2003 Curator’s Soft Spot for ‘low-brow art’ inspires exhibit at Lave Lounge

2002 ‘In the Galleries,’ Seattle PI, Regina Hacket

2000 Wholehearted; Passionate ‘2000 1/2’ takes pulse of Zeitgeist, Seattle PI, Regina Hacket

1994 ‘Hurry to See These Exhibits Before They Close,’ Capitol Hill Times, Jennifer McNeely

1993 ‘Serene Images Composed in the Raw,’ The Glass Onion, Elvis Irizarry