May 15, 2026 – May 10, 2027
In its third year, Art on the Barns is a bold outdoor exhibition of contemporary artworks installed across buildings of a working dairy farm. Playful, reflective, and layered with meaning, the installation draws from the routines and patterns of everyday work, creating visual touchpoints that connect the artwork to the surrounding landscape.
The act of mowing fields, cutting paths and shaping the land mirrors the artist’s process of drawing and painting. In both farming and artmaking, labor becomes a contemplative space shaped by movement, attention, and the satisfaction of work completed.
Using humor, curiosity, and thoughtful observation, artist Gail Rickards draws on her life in rural New England and time spent at Billings Farm & Museum. Loose, lively drawings and paintings have been translated into cut aluminum and PVC foam forms layered with paint.
In conversation with the farm, these works reveal the beauty, discipline, and repetition embedded in the tasks of daily life.
Across the site, guests will encounter works including TROPHY ROOM, where trophies are lined up along the exterior of the cow barn, and SILOS, featuring giant popcorn kernels climbing a silo once used to store corn.
ICEHOUSE references the historic house through latticed wallpaper in juxtaposition with a ladder reflecting recently completed labor. QUILT BARN connects the farm and the museum, referencing not only the annual quilt show, but also the routine of mowing the farm’s hayfields.
Inside the Visitor’s Center, guests can view additional works by Gail Rickards. Eleven paintings highlight her loose, graphic style and connect her studio work with the site-specific installations throughout Billings Farm & Museum.
“There is something so thoughtful, approachable, and unexpected about this exhibition,” says Curatorial & Exhibitions Manager, Sherlock Terry, “The way the artwork brings farming and artmaking into a shared contemplative space reflects the care, movement, and satisfaction in work completed.”
About the Artist
Gail Rickards received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston and now lives and works in New Hampshire. Her practice includes drawing, painting, and small sculptural objects that explore personal narrative through the lens of rural life.
Rickards has presented solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group and juried shows throughout New England, New York, and Chicago. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Kishka Gallery in White River Junction, VT; The Artists Living Room in Brooklyn, NY; Pillar Gallery & Projects in Concord, NH; Cove Street Arts in Portland, ME: Pictor Gallery in New York City, NY; and AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH.
Her work is held in private collections. Learn more at gailrickards.com and on Instagram @grickardsstudio.