Acrylic & Paint Pen by Rachael Rusenko
Rachel Rusenko
Portland, OR

Originally from Casablanca, Morocco, Rachel Rusenko is a painter, muralist, vocalist, writer, thespian, and community organizer. They have been performing original ambient soundscapes since 2014.

In their art, Rachel explores a juxtaposition of crisp line work inspired by Islamic geometric patterns with softer, rounder forms often found in human anatomy and nature. All of their work is derived from a stream of consciousness flow state. They are exploring multiple forms of public performance, including acting, poetry recitation, and live music performance. They have been live painting for ten years in various cities and numerous types of events. They are a co-founder of mixed use creative community center Earth Space PDX located in SE Portland, Oregon.

Heavily influenced by their upbringing in Casablanca, Morocco, Rusenko's work clashes tessellations resembling Islamic geometric patterns with organic and yielding forms found in nature. Their stream of consciousness, as depicted by their ink, projects a dreamlike quality which induces a trance-like submersion. The intricacy of their line work invites the viewer to explore a multiverse living on canvas, with dimensional pockets permitting multiple reads and infinite possibilities.

Rusenko has taken an active role in community building and organizing arts spaces since 2013. They currently devotes much of their time to Earth Space PDX, a local art and perma-culture community center which they are a co-founder of. They often discusses themes of femininity, nature’s cycles, and surreal dream scapes in their work.