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Artist Spotlight: Rayana Hill
Rayana Hill (she/her) is a Richmond-based artist, and member of VisArts’ Spring/Summer 2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents, whose work explores the threshold between painting and sculpture, engaging in themes of memory, obscurity, transformation, and unseen labor.
Her tactile artworks are created from a combination of drawing, painting, printing, hand-cutting, and assemblage techniques. Her labor-intensive process of hand-cutting and layering individual strips of paper is an act of obsession and persistence.
Rayana’s artistic practice is heavily impacted by her identity as an educator, caretaker, woman, partner, and daughter. During her VisArts residency, she is continuing to develop her current series, “What Is Carried,” exploring the maintenance required to perform these roles in accordance with both her personal expectations and societal standards.
Partway through her six-month residency, we got the opportunity to sit down with Rayana in one of VisArts’ drawing studios, and discussed the many shredded bits of inspiration that make up her current creative practice.
VisArts: How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Rayana: I’m a sculptor and mixed-media artist. My work combines paper, photographs, and found materials to create layered pieces that explore themes of labor, repetition, accumulation, and the passage of time. Much of my practice is process-driven; using time-intensive repetitive acts as a way to reflect on the everyday tasks and experiences that shape our lives. I am interested in how everyday experiences, responsibilities, and routines leave traces behind, and how materials can serve as records of those experiences.
What was your first interaction with VisArts?
My first interaction with VisArts was as a sophomore at VCU. A professor recommended that I apply for an internship, and I was lucky enough to be accepted. It was my first opportunity to see the inner workings of a community arts center and learn from artists and educators who were invested in making art accessible to everyone.
The experience had a lasting impact on me as both an artist and educator, so it feels especially meaningful to return to VisArts now as a resident artist.
A closeup of Rayana working on a new piece.
What are you working on during your residency?
During my residency, I am continuing a body of work that examines labor, repetition, and accumulation. I am exploring the emotional, mental, and physical forms of labor that often go unseen, particularly the ongoing work required to maintain different aspects of our identities and daily lives. The pieces serve as physical manifestations of small responsibilities, routines, and obligations that gradually build over time, sometimes becoming overwhelming in their cumulative weight.
The residency has given me the opportunity to expand the scale of my work, experiment with new materials, and further investigate how repetitive processes can communicate these experiences.
How were you drawn to transforming found materials into sculpture?
I have always been interested in materials that carry a sense of history. Paper, photographs, maps, and printed imagery already tell their own stories before I begin working with them. Over time, I became curious about how these materials could be transformed through cutting, layering, and reconfiguration.
While I was in graduate school, I became interested in using data visualization as a way to explore everyday life and human behavior through art. One of the first projects that sparked this interest involved creating a map of my neighborhood. Rather than making a traditional map, I chose to document the length of grass in each yard on my block. I translated that information into a cut-paper artwork. As I spent hours cutting hundreds of small pieces of paper to represent the varying lengths of grass, I realized how much I enjoyed the repetitive, labor-intensive nature of the process.
Around the same time, I completed another project in which I tracked every activity I engaged in over the course of a week. I recorded how I spent my time and color-coded different categories of activity. Then, I translated that information into a cut-paper artwork. That project really sparked my curiosity about where our attention goes and how art can make visible the aspects of life that often go unnoticed.
Those experiences ultimately shaped the way I work today. I continue to be drawn to slow, repetitive processes of cutting, layering, and accumulation. There is something both meditative and hypnotic about taking an existing image, slicing it into hundreds of small pieces, and carefully rearranging it into something new.
What are some of your sources of inspiration?
My inspiration comes from many places, including personal memories, relationships, family histories, archives, found imagery, and everyday routines. I am also deeply influenced by artists whose work centers around labor, care, and maintenance, particularly Mierle Laderman Ukeles and the Maintenance Art movement.
More broadly, I am inspired by the small moments and ordinary experiences that often go unnoticed yet shape our daily lives.
What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer?
Rather than communicating a single message, I hope to create opportunities for reflection. I want viewers to consider the forms of labor, care, and emotional work that often remain invisible.
Ultimately, I hope viewers find connections to their own lives. I hope my work encourages viewers to reflect on the memories, responsibilities, relationships, and experiences that shape who they are.
Rayana earned her BFA in Art Education from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2020 and her MA in Art Education from the University of Florida in 2025. She is a full-time art educator in Chesterfield, Virginia.
Learn more about Rayana + her work: @rayanahillart | rayanahill.com
Interests and opinions expressed by artists-in-residence are their own. Learn more about VisArts’ organizational values and code of conduct.