Upcoming Exhibits

Charles Gaines - Anna Ballarian Visiting Artist

Monday, March 16, 2026 to Friday, April 10, 2026

Exhibition: (on campus)
March 16 - April 10, 2026
University Gallery Grid Space
Booth Hall 2700, RIT Campus

Artist Talk: (off campus)
Thursday, March 26, 2026
6:30 pm
Memorial Art Gallery Auditorium
500 University Ave
Rochester, NY
Free // All Welcome

A pivotal figure in the field of conceptual art, Charles Gaines’ body of work engages formulas and systems that interrogate relationships between the objective and the subjective realms. Using a generative approach to create a series of works in a variety of mediums, he has built a bridge between the early conceptual artists of the 1960s and 1970s and subsequent generations of artists pushing the limits of conceptualism today.

Born in 1944 in Charleston, South Carolina, Gaines began his career as a painter, earning his MFA from the School of Art and Design at RIT in 1967. In the 1970s, Gaines’ art shifted dramatically when he explored the use of mathematical and numeric systems to create soft, numbered marks in ink on a grid, with each drawing built upon the calculations of the last. This methodical approach would carry the artist into the subsequent decades of his artistic journey.

Curated and organized by Ellen Tani and John Aasp, this small survey of work aims to share a glimpse of Gaines's early work, along with examples of his generative, conceptual process. Works in this exhibition are generously lent by Deborah Ronnen, Caitlyn Forsyth Kireker, Paul Garland, Ben Wigfall Estate/Dolan Maxwell Gallery, and the studio of Charles Gaines.

This exhibition and artist talk are made possible by The Anna Ballarian Visiting Artist Series, The RIT College of Art and Design, Memorial Art Gallery, and Charles Gaines Studio.

Learn more about Charles Gaines and his practice here.

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