BIOGRAPHY
Barbara Rachko is an American contemporary artist and author who divides her time between New York City and Alexandria, VA. Best known for her one-of-a-kind pastel-on-sandpaper paintings, Barbara draws from her vast collection of Mexican and Guatemalan folk art—including masks, carved wooden animals, papier-mâché figures, and toys—to create bold and surreal works that blend fantasy with personal narrative.
Her career has been as vibrant as her art. At 25, Barbara learned to fly, became a commercial pilot and Boeing-727 flight engineer, and later served as a Naval officer at the Pentagon, eventually retiring as a Commander. Her personal journey is marked by tragedy—on 9/11, her husband, Dr. Bryan C. Jack, was killed on the plane that hit the Pentagon—yet she continues to transform life into powerful visual expression.
Barbara is the author of “From Pilot to Painter” and the creator of the acclaimed blog “Barbara Rachko’s Colored Dust,” now read by over 213,000 subscribers. Her Facebook community has surpassed 182,000 followers, and she is frequently featured in exhibitions and interviews, including Franki’s Open Mike and The Healing Power of Color 2025.
New York critic Peter Dellolio writes, “Like de Chirico, Barbara Rachko has created a unique, original, and very private landscape.” Arts writer Ann Landi notes her visual strategy evokes “the sophisticated patterning of Matisse and the oblique angles of Degas.”
Barbara exhibits both nationally and internationally and is currently represented by Vedica Art Studios and Gallery (IN), Apricus Art Collection (US), and others.
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