Rebecca Rutstein: Universal Nature

THE PHILIP AND MURIEL BERMAN MUSEUM OF ART
URSINUS COLLEGE

June 16 – November 24, 2026

SAVE THE DATE
Opening Reception & Artist Talk
Thursday, Sept 17, 6-8pm

The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College is proud to present Universal Nature, the most comprehensive solo exhibition to date of Philadelphia-based artist Rebecca Rutstein. This mid-career survey brings together large-scale paintings, sculpture, video, textile, and new works inspired by scientific expeditions at sea and in the Arctic, offering an expansive view of Rutstein’s multidisciplinary practice over the past five to ten years.

Register for the Event

Rutstein is invited to give a TEDx talk at Yale University.

Join us on March 28 for Yale’s flagship TEDx conference, this year centered on the theme, Hidden Connections.

This year’s event will bring together an inspiring group of thinkers, creators, and innovators from Yale and beyond to explore the unexpected links that shape our world. All talks will be filmed and shared on the TEDx platform, extending these ideas far beyond the room. Join us for a day of discovery, dialogue, and ideas worth spreading.

For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tedxyale-2026-hidden-connections-tickets-1984656561200?aff=oddtdtcreator

In February, Rutstein is planning to travel to the Greenland Climate Research Center (GCRC) in Nuuk, Greenland, as part of an art/science collaboration with a group from the Ocean Memory Project. Situated just below the Arctic Circle at the mouth of a group of fjords, Nuuk is considered a key Arctic hub for the region. The GCRC is an international research center focused on the impact of climate change on Arctic communities and ecosystems.

Rutstein will work with microbiologist Jody Deming and artists Christine Lee and Andrew Atkinson on a project called Inhabiting: Losing the Architectural Memory of Sea Ice. This project sheds light on the complex interior networks of sea ice that sustain microbial life and are critical to the marine food web while being threatened by global warming. Works created in Greenland will be exhibited at the Berman Museum of Art in 2026.

Learn more at https://rebeccarutstein.com/collaborations/

Modern Luxury published an art feature in magazines across the U.S. highlighting Rutstein along with contemporary artists Amy Sherald, Yoko Ono, Tavaras Strachen and others who are shaping the current cultural narrative.

Read the full article: https://www.modernluxury.com/meet-the-visionary-artists-shaping-todays-cultural-narrative/

Penn Medicine recently commissioned a backlit sculptural installation, custom created for the Clifton Center, a new, state-of-the-art medical building at the University of Pennsylvania. The Cumulus Series sculptures offer a calming and meditative experience for patients and their loved ones.

Penn Medicine also acquired a 4′ Rutstein painting installed next to windows offering a glimpse of her AT&T mural Convergence along the Schuylkill River. Rutstein is an alum of University of Pennsylvania and honored to have these works in their permanent collection.

For more information or commission inquiries: bmayer@bmayerart.com

Announcing ARx Program in Philadelphia

Building on four successful years of programming at Phoenix Bioscience Core in Arizona, ARx is expanding to Philadelphia with Wexford Science + Technology. ARx pairs professional artists and scientists as a team in cross-disciplinary collaboration, integrating science with creative expression and making complex ideas accessible to broader audiences.

Collaboration and Exhibition

Rutstein was selected for the Philadelphia cohort and paired with Sony Tuteja, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine (Translational Medicine and Human Genetics) from the University of Pennsylvania. The pair will collaborate through 2026. The program provides an honorarium to create a work of art that will be exhibited in multiple public venues including uCity Square in Philadelphia.

Selections were nominated and chosen by a team including Chief Cultural Officer of the City of Philadelphia, Valerie Gay, Curator Angela McQuillan and others. For more information: https://ucitysquare.com/arx/

PHILADELPHIA OPEN STUDIO TOURS

Saturday, Oct 11 & Sunday, Oct 12, 12-6pm
Artist Talk: 4pm each day
Drinks & light refreshments

Crane Arts Building
1400 North American Street, Studio #304

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

This October, Rutstein is participating in the 2025 Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, a citywide event. Meet the artist, see works including paintings, sculptures and limited edition prints, and hear about current projects and collaborations. An informal artist talk will be presented each day at 4pm. Drinks and light refreshments will be served.

https://www.cfeva.org/philaopenstudios

BERMAN MUSEUM OF ART

Ursinus College
Collegeville, PA

June thru Nov 2026

A solo exhibition is planned for the second half of 2026 at the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College. This exhibition will be a survey of Rutstein’s work featuring painting, sculpture and video highlighting her creative practice and ongoing collaborations with scientists. Exhibition reception, programming and other information will be shared in the coming months. For more information, contact Lauren McCardel at lmccardel@ursinus.edu

Materiality

BRIDGETTE MAYER GALLERY
Philadelphia, PA

November 4, 2025 – Feb 26, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, Nov 14, 5-7:30pm

This group exhibition features the work of six artists exploring materiality. Materiality expands beyond paint and canvas to explore the multidisciplinary nature of each artist’s creative practice. Works in the show span two and three dimensional space through the use of steel, fabric, wood, mosaic, paper, aluminum and canvas, emphasizing how underlying themes in the works of each artist can travel across mediums. For more information: bmayer@bmayerart.com

The Eureka Moment: Unveiling Metaphors of Discovery

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Washington, D. C.

Aug 1, 2025 – May 9, 2026

Rutstein is included in a 10-month group exhibition at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. Drawing from the permanent art collection, this exhibition invites viewers to consider how visual metaphors can spark insight. These works offer more than aesthetic experience—they are springboards for curiosity, inspiring us to question, reframe, and imagine scientific ideas in a new light. Rutstein’s twelve paintings on view were created on research expeditions at sea as an artist in residence. She is also featured in a short film by Brier Films on view in the exhibition.

> Click here for more information

OCEAN MEMORY PROJECT
The Interconnection of Land & Ocean
Art & Science Workshop

Friday Harbor Laboratories
University of Washington
San Juan Island, WA

September 25-29, 2025

Rutstein co-organized and participated in an interdisciplinary workshop with the Ocean Memory Project at Friday Harbor Laboratories. Situated between Seattle and Vancouver, the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories is a marine research lab in the midst of the Salish Sea. This year’s workshop theme was Interconnection of Land and Ocean and expands upon an eight year-long journey with the Ocean Memory Project.

Rutstein was recently featured on the podcast 23 Journeys

Watch: https://youtu.be/JBY1RMhqxe4
Listen: https://rss.com/podcasts/23journeyscreative/2219641/

Art Meets Science: Rebecca Rutstein’s Creative Journey
“On 23 Journeys: A Network for Creatives, we had the honor of sitting down with internationally recognized artist Rebecca Rutstein. Rebecca’s story is incredible. She’s brought together art, science, and collaboration in ways that few have. From large-scale public art at Temple University and the AT&T building in Philadelphia, to diving in the Alvin submersible and creating works like Ridge & Valley and Shimmer, her journey shows what’s possible when creativity meets persistence.

Brier Films has created a documentary that tells the origin story of Nereid Biomaterials, a women-led company developing ocean-degradable bioplastics, conceived through the Ocean Memory Project. The film communicates the importance of sustainable materials and the power of innovation in tackling environmental challenges—highlighting how science, art, and imagination can shape a more sustainable future. The film features scientists Alyson Santoro, Melissa Omand, Jody Deming, and Artist Rebecca Rutstein.

WATCH THE FILM HERE

Laudato Si: Caring for Our Common Home

FRANCES M. MAGUIRE ART MUSEUM
St. Joseph’s University

June 11 – August 10, 2025

This group exhibition explores humanity’s deep and sacred connection to the Earth through the lens of Laudato Si’, the powerful poem by Saint Francis of Assisi that inspired Pope Francis’s call for environmental action. Featuring 24 artists working across diverse mediums, Laudato Si’: Caring for Our Common Home presents a rich tapestry of work, both realistic and abstract, that reflect the beauty of our planet and the urgency of its preservation.

Rutgers University in New Jersey has acquired a three-panel Rutstein painting, part of a 2015 painting series, spanning 23 feet in length. To view available works or for commission inquiries: bmayer@bmayerart.com

Rutstein was included in the international publication The Ocean Manifesto — a book dedicated to artistic practices that explore and challenge our relationships with the ocean. It includes artists from all over the world — from the Caribbean and Polynesia to the African coasts and Greenland.

The Ocean Manifesto was published by JBE Books in Paris and given to Heads of State at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France in June 2025, in partnership with the Metis Fund and the French Agency for Development.

Preview and/or purchase a copy >

“(In)Visible Structures: Exploring Hidden Realms

Rebecca Rutstein (In)Visible Structures presents a diverse selection of paintings that delve into the invisible ecosystems sustaining life on our planet. Drawn from Rutstein’s storied career and ongoing scientific collaborations, highlights include her Kama’ehuakanaloa Series, first conceived at sea during her 2023 voyage off Hawaii’s coast. Curator Heather Moqtaderi notes how these pieces bridge the gap between artistic expression and the latest in environmental research…”

Read the full article here >

In May, Rutstein served as a guest critic along with standing faculty for the final reviews of First Year Graduate painting students at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.

Artist Talk by Rebecca Rutstein
Art & Advocacy: Creating a Deeper Connection with the Natural World

In late April, Rutstein was invited to speak at the Hill School in Pennsylvania to an interdepartmental group of high school students about art, science and sustainability. For more information or to inquire about an artist talk at an institution, contact rebeccarutstein@gmail.com

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY
2025 Earth Day Keynote

Artist Talk by Rebecca Rutstein
Art & Advocacy: Creating a Deeper Connection with the Natural World

Thursday April 24th at 6pm
Driscoll Hall Auditorium
Open to the Public

Villanova University’s Earth Day Keynote is the headline event in the University’s Earth Week activities, and is supported by the Office for Sustainability, Strategic Initiative for Climate, Justice and Sustainability, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Office of the Provost, The Ethics Program, The Department of Geography and the Environment, The Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship, and Sustainable Engineering

Opening Reception
Thursday, April 10, 6-8pm
Gallery Talk at 7pm

Artist Presentation
Saturday, April 26 at 2pm

(In)Visible Structures is a solo exhibition of paintings by Rebecca Rutstein. This exhibition draws from Rutstein’s established body of works inspired by oceanic voyages with scientists and new explorations. Rutstein’s works inspire contemplation and awe while also fostering knowledge and respect for the hidden processes at work in the natural world. (In)Visible Structures is curated by Heather Moqtaderi, Interim Director of Environmental Art.

Catalog with Essay Available

Rutstein has recently completed a 42 x 19 foot mural spanning three stories inside a new corporate building of a major financial company on City Line Avenue bordering Bala Cynwyd and Philadelphia. The work, called River & Sky, is Rutstein’s 4th major mural in the Philadelphia area. River & Sky – with it’s dramatic verticality – is suggestive of the movement and cycles of water: the flow of a waterfall, the branching of rivers, the rise of water vapor, droplets forming clouds in the atmosphere, the fall of water as rain and snow, the continuous movement on, above and below the earth’s surface. For more information: https://rebeccarutstein.com/public-art/