About the Artist

Ruth Chase is a multimedia artist whose work speaks to the value of people to their community—working with themes of belonging, visibility, and what it means to be a human. Ruth is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute whose artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles for Art in Action and a grant to an individual artist from the Carl Jacobs Foundation. She was granted a residency at the Millay Colony for the Arts in NY, published in Professional Artist Magazine, Catapult Art Magazine, and Huffington Post, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum. Ruth was a featured artist on the Dead Files TV program and was awarded an Artist in Residence at Nevada County Arts for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film BELONGING screened at the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Ruth received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice, exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute.

About the Exhibition

A solo exhibition of paintings and videos by Ruth Chase exploring identity alongside a public response to the notion of what it means to be a woman.
Ruth’s work is fueled by social engagement and collaboration. Working in video and paint, she presents work that challenges traditional roles prescribed to us by society and explores feminine and masculine traits that embody all genders rather than being defined by one’s outward appearance. The work shares contrasting viewpoints, encouraging the viewer to come to their own conclusions.
Ruth paints large acrylic paint on canvas, blurring the lines with drips and intersecting patterns, shapes, and edges. Gray is a dominant color to represent gender neutrality and a departure from colors commonly associated with women, allowing the viewer to bring more of themselves to the work without being drawn into commercial stereotypes of the feminine.

The video work informs the paintings and delivers a broader perspective. The art film is a collage of moments that allows the viewer to connect with unlikely perspectives, finding a sense of belonging in someone they may see as “other.”
The work mindfully shares contrasting viewpoints, allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions. The exhibition is a gaze into a broader experience about being human and being part of a complex species that is ever-evolving. Ruth presents her subject matter in an accessible exhibition that is neither definitive nor a statement about feminism but rather a glance into the lives of everyday people and their thoughts and feelings about women.

Ruth Chase  website | Facebook | instagram | vimeo | CV

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

• Aerial (II) Class Winter 2022

  Monday, January 10th | 5:00 pm - Monday, March 28th | 6:30 pm

• Elizabeth Dorbad

  Friday, January 14th | 12:00 am - Saturday, February 26th | 12:00 am