RUTZ

RUTZ
And its inside myself that I must create someone who will understand.
Clarice Lispector
About the artist

A figurative artist who is interested in how emotions and humor can be expressed through color, motion, and our relationship to the environment.

Artist statement

Anxiety and a desire to bridge the connections between the systems of the environment and the human experience are the underlying threads that connect my work. I use humor and playful figurative characters to invite viewers to explore the insanity and interest of the Anthropocene, a “period of time during which humanity has become a planetary force of change”.

ANTHROPOCENE

ANTHROPOCENE

Acrylic on Canvas · 2021 · 121.92 x 121.92

Anthropocene is defined as the period of human impact within the scale of earth’s existence. Inspired by the playful nature of pop-music and a low-brow art style, this work invites the idea of the inwoven nature of humanity and the environment as a continuously growing entity. The complexities of climate change and societal shifting morph into an abstract entity that is both beautiful and fearful. I believe that the environment that shapes a person can also reflect the inner emotions of that person through systems. When a city is chaotic, when streets are poorly designed, the system is not functional. When a person in enveloped in chaos within themselves, when they have created their life in a manner that is not indicative of growth, they mimic the same dysfunction of the street.

DINNER WITH DEATH OMENS

DINNER WITH DEATH OMENS

Oil on Canvas · 2022 · 101.6x76.2

The figures have just learned through various clues that they will die. Perhaps, they are already dead. The setting is unclear. They gather around the dinner table with upside-down bread, a sign of death in some early French settlements. Speculations about the omen come from the busy schedule of an executioner who, in a rush on their morning commute, would visit the local bakery to find their reserved daily bread turned upside down to indicate it was theirs. A charred egg is also served. Where does the soul go in a rotten egg? The egg has been charred by the fire, not a good sign. The corpse candle falls, the flame lost. The figures respond to these signs, some horrified, others relieved. A knife to the throat is not a threat to the beggar of the blade

ANTHROPOCENE II

ANTHROPOCENE II

Colored pencil on cardstock · 2024 · 50.8x76.2

I FUKING HATE YOU I FUCKING LOVE YOU

I FUKING HATE YOU I FUCKING LOVE YOU

Spray Paint and Acrylic on Wood · 2021 · 30.5 x 30.5

List of plates
  1. 01ANTHROPOCENE
  2. 02DINNER WITH DEATH OMENS
  3. 03ANTHROPOCENE II
  4. 04I FUKING HATE YOU I FUCKING LOVE YOU
Biography

Born in 1999, Florida, near the water - Based in Rome, near the history

My practice is based on an insatiable desire to create something new that is more satisfying than the last. I listen about art, I read about art, I visit museums, I dream in paintings, and I sketch constantly.

I like to work in acrylics. Todd Schorr once said that you can do anything with acrylic that you can do with oil. I took his word for it and started creating!

I like to begin with some sketches and flip through my art magazine collections to get ideas. Once I have something that feels rights, I get onto the canvas and start looking for the colors I'll use. Any great artist will tell you give space for change while working, and so I listen to them and take time between painting sessions to let the work rest. I know a painting is finished when there's no part of the canvas that I feel I can make better.

Education

  • 2022-2025M.L.A. University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  • 2018-2022B.F.A. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • 2016-2018A.A. Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, FL

Selected exhibitions

  • 2025London Biennale, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London, UK
  • 2024Chianciano Biennale, Chianciano Art Museum, Tuscany, Italy
  • 2024Page Turner, The Fishbowl, Seattle, WA, USA
  • 2022String of Reifications, How Bazaar, Gainesville, FL USA

Press

  • 2025"London Art Biennale Opens to Rave Reviews"