HOMELANDS, 26 September – 31 December 2025

Rainmaker Gallery is delighted to welcome back Mvskoke artist Rick Grimster for his latest solo exhibition, HOMELANDS, celebrating the eightieth year in the life of this extraordinary artist.

In this series of acrylic paintings, Grimster playfully merges abstract impressions of England and America through masterful use of colour, pattern and texture. Together these autobiographical landscapes chart his remarkable passage through time on two continents, his complex, evolving identities and his lifelong journey of transformation from adoptee to Indigenous elder.

Rick Grimster’s extraordinary life story is as captivating as his outstanding artwork. Born in London, he was one of around 22,000 babies fathered by American G.I.s during World War II. His birth father Freeman Marshall was a Native American soldier from the Muscogee Creek Nation.

Baby Rick was adopted by a loving English couple and knew nothing of his origins until later in life. He attended Cheltenham School of Art in the 1960s and gained an MFA in 1970. An intensely private man, he continued to paint throughout his life without any intention of exhibiting his work.

Rick Grimster made his gallery debut at the venerable age of 77. His first solo exhibition, BELONGING, all but sold out in less than a week. A second exhibition, WINTER TREES, followed later that year with even more spectacular success.

This exhibition coincides with National Adoption Week, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the eightieth year of Rick Grimster’s incredible life.

HOMELANDS is a love letter to the people and places that gave life to this remarkable artist.

Exhibition opening Friday 26th September 5pm-7pm