Louis Buhl & Co is pleased to present a unique series by Detroit-based artist Ellen Rutt titled Derangement Into New Arrangement. Rutt's intersectional practice explores the complex relationships between place, process, material, and movement. In this series of canvas works, Rutt delves into a deeply personal and transformative journey marked by the poignant context of her father's passing in late 2023.

By breaking down and altering paintings through layering naturally occurring materials like charcoal, sand, soil, and rain, Rutt reflects the rearrangement of self-identity following such a profound loss. Each artwork represents both individual expression and parts of a collective whole. The deliberate act of deconstructing old work mirrors Rutt's internal journey of breaking down to rebuild anew. 

The series' title is inspired by teacher and potter M.C. Richards' book Centering: In Pottery, In Poetry, In The Person, a favorite text of Rutt's late father who was also a potter. A quote from the book captures the essence of the series: "Symptoms of growth may look like breakdown or derangement; the more we are allowed by the love of others and by self-understanding to live through our derangement into the new arrangement, the luckier we are." 

Rutt aims to infuse intimacy into abstraction, inviting viewers to engage with her multi-layered work. The raw, unstretched canvases bear the artist's spontaneous writings and marks of environmental traces, created through a cathartic, performative process. The incorporation of natural elements and the documentation of her creative actions highlight the evolution of the artwork as an ongoing conversation between the artist's inner world and the external forces that shape it.