Rachel Rush
Rachel Rush is an internationally collected New Zealand artist. One of New Zealand’s top-selling living artists, Rachel brings not one but two distinct voices to her work - moody, evocative, journeys into colour (Rachel Rush), and electrifying, rebellious street art (RUSH). Sought after in New York, Los Angeles, and across Oceania, Rachel’s works are bold, dynamic statement pieces that demand reactions and turn heads wherever they’re exhibited.
Rachel’s dual voices act as a gateway into experiencing her own divided and contradictory self. Under Rachel Rush, she explores the boundaries of colour, using resin to manipulate and play with our expectations and draw us into their contemplative realities. Conversely, her work under RUSH is big, brash, and bursting into life through striking pop-culture-inspired characters and gritty street art storytelling. Rachel approaches her creativity with an inimitable feeling-driven process that creates striking work, like the urban disturbance of RUSH -where the street art of Melbourne and the Berlin Wall is brought into the home- and the contemporary fine art magic of Rachel Rush.
Over the last decade, Rachel has enjoyed a staggering rise through the New Zealand art scene. Selling out her first show, she has grown to be a key feature in leading exhibitions across Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, where she is regularly pre-invited. Her two distinctive artistic voices have been showcased in prestigious international exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, and Singapore - such as The Other Art Fair, the Affordable Art Fair, and Art in the Park, where she is a regular top seller. Rachel has undertaken collaborations with Starbucks and Berkeley cinemas, interviewed with Luke Potkin, and counts The Arts House Trust and Lady Julia Morris among her collectors. While she is heavily collected in New Zealand, her works are also sought after in New York, Los Angeles, and across wider Oceania. An established force in the New Zealand art scene, Rachel is represented by notable galleries throughout the country.
Rachel has been featured in Seven Sharp, Sunday Times, AM SHOW with William Waiirau, Home & Garden, The Block NZ, Verve Magazine, New Zealand Hearld Viva, Denison Magazine, Otago Daily Times, Including Auckland Haert of the City Art Week and was handpicked by Saatchi for the groundbreaking, sold-out The Other Avatars NFT project.
With one of the biggest followings in New Zealand today, Rachel’s work consistently draws crowds and enormous demand among collectors and the public. Her vibrant, colourful art leaps from the visceral and fun to the positive and loving and stokes deep reactions and unforgettable emotions.
Where I have been:
I have been painting full-time since 2012. After selling out my first show, I have since split my brand into Rachel Rush (contemporary fine art) and RUSH (graffiti art). Creating what I wanted to see in my own home, my twin brands express the distinct sides of my personality and in turn, the divided and contradictory identities in all of us. Since splitting my brand, I have applied to exhibitions, art fairs, and galleries as two artists, and both have proven to succeed. Although I regularly sell out exhibitions, it is rare for one brand to significantly (or even noticeably) outsell the other. I feel this balance speaks to the appeal each voice has to a wide range of personalities. The mature have elements of the rebellious and the rebellious have elements of the mature.
From the start, Rachel Rush was developed from a need to express my obsession with colour and movement. Working with resin on canvas I spend weeks painstakingly layering the colours, playing with expectations and assumptions until I feel it no longer needs to be touched and the piece lets me go. My market for this brand is typically professional couples, corporates, and young, first-time collectors looking for a statement.
RUSH has always been born out of one voice - the desire to not conform. I have always been drawn to graffiti in the streets, from the aggressive heat and energy of the characters to the finish of the spray paint. I taught myself to create stencils and through them developed original characters and interpretations (such as The Joker) that continue to evoke powerful reactions whenever they’re exhibited. Each one is created from around 28 layers of stencilling, giving them a depth that helps them leap off the canvas. This has developed a cult-like following among collectors. I’m regularly told by young people that it’s a goal of theirs to own one, as well as older couples in their 80s who want to bring some youth, energy, and sass into their homes.
In my early career, an obstacle I faced to getting both brands out there were the closed doors of the art world. In short, they wanted to discover people rather than have me reach out to them. This was difficult at first, but I overcame it by putting in the work and producing a volume and quality of output that they couldn’t ignore. The more I exhibited, the more sales and attention I got, and then the art world started approaching me with offers of representation. Among them were many who had rejected me earlier. I was conscious to work only with galleries that truly believed in and loved the two voices in my work and wanted to help me make the brands known.
The development of these brands has been a conscious effort to achieve two goals. The first is to continue to express myself and follow my creative instincts so that my work is unique, with its own inimitable voice. The second is to be a top seller at every show I attend. I am regularly a sold-out artist, which I have developed strategies to deal with (bring MORE work!), and have, to date, sold every canvas I’ve worked on. I have many collectors around New Zealand with collections of over 10 or more pieces, with my largest private collector currently owning over 30 works. I also have international collectors and am currently gaining repeat buyers from my Sydney and Melbourne shows.
Where I am going:
The last 11 years of my career have gone very well. From the start, it was my goal for the art to be well known. I have continually shown and sold my work in various galleries around New Zealand, including Solo exhibitions. I have participated in over 50 national and international exhibitions. I have consistently been the top 1 and 2 sellers for the biggest shows in New Zealand for several years now. Collectors have grown with me - first purchasing pieces for around $580 in early exhibitions then returning in later years to purchase pieces for $5800 for an equivalent-sized piece. I am proud of these results and I am well-known in New Zealand.
But I want to step up to the next level.
My goal is for the art to be well-known internationally. As with the obstacle presented by the art world in my early career, I am looking to tackle this the same way. I have produced a quantity and quality of work that has become noticed by galleries outside of New Zealand, and I am now looking for one that is right for me. Specifically, someone who is passionate about my work, driven and connected, who has integrity and the ability to get my work out there while I create the best art of my career. My focus is international growth with a wider ambition to become represented by eight to ten international galleries around the world with international solo shows, and the international recognition that comes with them. But that all starts with the right gallery.
I have achieved every goal I have set for myself in my artistic career. I am very hardworking, incredibly loyal, and value integrity in all my relationships with my galleries and collectors. I am confident that with the right partnership, I can achieve my goals and help bring new success and attention to the gallery representing me.
Because of this, I will be narrowing down my representation in New Zealand and only exhibit in the two biggest art exhibitions that I’m still currently involved with, making my work more exclusive in New Zealand. I am aware of how many artworks I can produce in a year, and have turned my focus to international growth, which began by exhibiting over the past few years in Sydney, Melbourne and shortly Singapore. My previous solo exhibition was with the Accor Group at the SO Hotel in Auckland, February 2024 which was so successful I now have a permanent solo Gallery, SO Gallery in central Auckland.
I currently paint for Rachel Rush and RUSH on canvas with custom-made frames. I have added a new direction for my work as my Signature Range, which was launched in New Zealand at my Alter Ego’s Solo show in February at SO Hotel. To date, I have sold numerous Signature Range works which have sold for $25,000 to $29,000ea. I plan to grow this range, particularly internationally for both RUSH and Rachel Rush.