Rebecca Rutstein @ Bridgette Mayer

Rebecca Rutstein / Deep Rift

January 24, 2013
Bridgette Mayer Gallery 

Bridgette Mayer Gallery announces its second exhibition of 2013:
A solo show by artist Rebecca Rutstein will be on view February 27 to
March 30, 2013, with an opening reception Friday, March 1, 6:00 – 8:30 PM.

Bridgette Mayer Gallery is pleased to announce its sixth solo exhibition of work by artist and Pew Fellow, Rebecca Rutstein. Deep Rift will be on view from February 27 to March 30, 2013, with an opening reception Friday, March 1, from 6:00 - 8:30 pm. The exhibition will feature new large and small paintings, as well as a site-specific, wall mounted sculptural piece spanning 10 x 16 ½ feet.

Deep Rift is a natural continuance of Rebecca Rutstein’s fantastical, landscape-based paintings. Her interest in geology as both subject matter and metaphor for life experiences and relationships is present, yet pared down and refined. Overt identifiable iconography has been abandoned in favor of more amorphous spaces. Wire-framed maps were once a muted background component in Rutstein’s work. In Deep Rift they have become the focal point. Undulating and disintegrating across the canvas, these artist-created topographies evoke the never ending turns of life and personal relationships. Along with the subject matter, the artist has shifted her physical use of paint as well. Experimenting with dripping, scraping and dragging paint across the canvas, the paintings in Deep Rift reveal a more dynamic surface quality and bolder color than previous bodies of work.

Rutstein’s participation in the Gullkistan Residency in Laugarvatn, Iceland was a major influence on the work in Deep Rift. She states, “One of the most geologically diverse places on earth – rich in glaciers, volcanoes, geysers and waterfalls – the island straddles two divergent tectonic plates. I was legitimately struck by the stark contrasts in the landscape and humbled by the forces behind it all. In particular, a guided hike on Sólheimajökull glacier in the south of Iceland was the inspiration for many of the paintings as well as the sculptural wall piece in the show.” During this exhibition, the back wall of the gallery will feature a laser-cut, steel sculpture that mimics the movement and rolling nature of Rutstein’s paintings.

Rebecca Rutstein received her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and her BFA from Cornell University in 1993. The artist has completed several residencies including, Gullkistan Residency (Laugarvatn, Iceland), the Red Cinder Artist Colony (Na'alehu, Hawaii), the Banff Centre for the Arts (Banff, Canada) and the Vermont Studio Center. She has been a visiting artist at a number of institutions, including Moore College of Art and Design, University of Texas, and Swarthmore College. Rutstein has been the recipient of a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, a Bridgette Mayer Travel Grant, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant, a Pew Professional Development Grant, and an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts. She has had numerous exhibitions including solo shows at the Philadelphia International Airport, Sylvia White Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA) and Fleisher Art Memorial (Challenge Exhibition).

Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. & by appointment. For additional information please contact Bridgette Mayer at (p) 215-413-8893 (f) 215-413-2283