Exhibition
Ellen Rutt
Both/And
Nov 19, 2021 - Jan 6, 2022
Louis Buhl & Co. is pleased to present Both/And, a solo exhibition of unique works by detroit-based artist Ellen Rutt. Across a range of physical and digital media, murals, paintings, performance, installations and collage, Rutt uses an abstract lexicon of color and form to study intangible ideas like boundaries and expansion. Both/And will focus on their “Place Paintings” series—a term they have coined for their body of environmentally-focused action paintings. The works on canvas are primarily made outside of the studio in a wide range of environments—forests, deserts, rural fields, cities, dumpsters, recycling centers, abandoned buildings and even lakes—that speak to the complex and contradicting intersections of consumption, place, identity, and nature. In addition to Both/And, a series of works on paper and studies will fill the back wall in the gallery space, comprising our latest Salon Highlight.
“I hope that they can bring something really intimate to the realm of abstraction,” Rutt says about their “Place Paintings.” She achieves this goal in the multilayered works, where the sought sense of intimacy is understood upon first glance through the messy scribbles of text that embed the canvases, and further through amassed knowledge of the expansive journey each one has endured amid its process of creation. Rutt begins her “Place Paintings” by taking a raw, unstretched canvas and free-writing her innermost thoughts, fears, and desires in that moment, motivated by the urgency to navigate her feelings and uncover a new layer of vulnerability. Following Rutt wherever she goes, the canvases trace elements from the surrounding environments through a cathartic process of pushing, pulling, rubbing, dragging and spilling. Involving natural components such as sand and dirt along with paint, the method is akin to performance, where Rutt’s actions and movements, driven by her disposition, guide the resulting imagery. Expanding on a legacy of action painters, she captures her process with a drone and her phone, bringing motion into conversation with contemporary technology, and echoing the idea that the process is, in itself, the art.
Not only is the environment a leading agent in the production of Rutt’s paintings, but its well-being is also a concern that informs her way of life. Over the past several years, she has been working towards utilizing materials that are plastic-free, renewable, biodegradable, or otherwise non-toxic. For the body of work featured in Both/And, they primarily used milk paint, a non-toxic, eco-friendly combination of pigment and milk casein as the binder. While sustainable efforts are at the forefront of Rutt’s practice, the artist also admits to, in certain instances, using leftover acrylic paint lying around her house from past projects. This exercise may sound contradictory (because it is), however, it’s precisely the duplicit narrative the action presents that Rutt aims to explore through her work. There lies a fascination in dissecting the reality of being one thing and simultaneously the exact opposite, and how that tension is unavoidable living under the systems of today’s day and age. Both/And are the words ingrained in her largest canvas work, as well as the title of the exhibition. Short and simple, the two words when paired together epitomize the countless multiplicities that exist within the individual and within society—they critique the act of valuing one thing yet behaving in an opposing manner, for example, but also praise the act of accepting and embracing all parts of oneself. As personal as the exhibition’s works are, the concepts that compose them are universal.
In contrast to the chaotic and expressive “Place Paintings,” the Salon Highlight features a series of smaller works and studies characterized by contained, organized shapes complete with solid colors and hard edges. The Salon Highlight serves as a physical representation of the Both/And narrative: the viewer is presented with two distinct bodies of work, providing a visual glimpse into the complexity of Rutt’s art-making practice, which further serves as a reflection of her multifaceted identity. Despite differences in process, material, and design, both bodies of work are clear outcomes of Rutt’s craft, making them undeniably intertwined and lending a small hand in making sense of life’s paradox.
“In alignment with the Both/And narrative, there is a part of me that clearly loves organized shapes on a canvas, that’s how my brain works in a world full of chaos—this is how I understand, this is how I feel safe. I make these graphic compositions and feel so good in this language. Then there’s another part of me that’s just like ‘no more of that safety, you have to go outside now.’ With this, people could criticize me and say ‘well this isn't your style,’ but ultimately, it’s just Both/And—I’m controlled and I’m chaos, and we all are that.” — Ellen Rutt
Ellen Rutt: Both/And will be on view from November 19, 2021 through January 6, 2022.