Artist Rebecca Rutstein works on her mural Convergence, July 12, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

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Rutstein is partnering with Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, the Bridgette Mayer Gallery, and AT&T, to create a 63 x 124′ mural on the AT&T Building in Philadelphia. “Convergence” will be seen from the Schuylkill River Trail and Banks Boardwalk, South Street Bridge, Schuylkill Expressway, and beyond into West Philadelphia.

JANE GOLDEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MURAL ARTS PHILADELPHIA:
“I am a wall hunter. I notice great walls in our city. The AT&T walls, rise above the river, above the new boardwalk, above our city. It was the perfect canvas for a work of art. So we are excited to say, in partnership with AT&T, Mural Arts is bringing this major work of public art by Rebecca Rutstein to Philadelphia. This building, through the magic of art, will be completely transformed from something unremarkable to an image of great beauty that captures the movement of the river, the lines of the boardwalk and the essence of the city.”

BRIDGETTE MAYER, DIRECTOR OF BRIDGETTE MAYER GALLERY:
“The gallery is thrilled to announce Rebecca Rutstein’s first public mural creation in Philadelphia. Ms. Rutstein will begin creating her large wrap-around mural at the AT&T building on the Schuylkill River Trail this week. This project has been underway for the past two years and now the City of Philadelphia and its residents will get to have this talented artist’s vibrant creation to enjoy along the waterfront! We are proud of Rebecca’s hard work and accomplishments leading to the culmination of this important project.”

“CONVERGENCE” WAS LAUNCHED JUNE 25TH, AND WILL BE COMPLETE WITH A RIBBON CUTTING IN OCTOBER.
“I’m thrilled to be contributing to the vibrant mural scene in Philadelphia, and to be creating something new in our city’s landscape. I have called Philadelphia home for most of my life, and it is a real honor to have my first, large-scale mural come to life so prominently along the banks of the Schuylkill River. I hope it will be enjoyed by the community for years to come, and I am thankful to the Mural Arts Program, AT&T and Bridgette Mayer Gallery for all of their support.”
– Rebecca Rutstein, 2019

Rutstein was invited to participate in the 2018 National Ocean Exploration forum at MIT Media Labs as an Ocean Discovery Fellow that brought scientists and creatives together to talk about conservation and ways to inspire and connect people with the ocean. She gave a lightning talk on her exhibition on view at the Georgia Museum of Art.  People as diverse as Steven Gould, sci fi writer working with James Cameron on the sequel to Avatar, and Nainoa Thompson, head of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, came together to collectively brainstorm on how to imagine a bright future for the ocean and our planet, and how we can engage the public in environmental stewardship.

This year-long award from the University of Georgia includes an Expedition in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, Deep Sea Dive in the Alvin Submersible and Solo Exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art.

Out of the Darkness:
Light in the Depths of the Sea of Cortez

Nov 1, 2018 – Oct 27, 2019

Opening Reception: Thurs Nov 1, 5:30-7pm
Georgia Museum of Art

www.georgiamuseum.org

Rebecca Rutstein has been awarded the 2018-19 Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding at the University of Georgia and will present a solo exhibition: Out of the Darkness: Light in the Depths of the Sea of Cortez at the Georgia Museum of Art.

Rutstein’s year-long appointment as the Delta Visiting Chair includes an expedition to Mexico’s Guaymas Basin in the Sea of Cortez, and a trip to the ocean floor aboard the Alvin submersible vessel, to explore hydrothermal vents, microbiology and carbon cycling processes with renowned oceanographer and University of Georgia Professor, Samantha Joye. The exceedingly rare opportunity for an artist to be invited onboard the 2-person (plus pilot) submarine, is an honor and lifelong dream come true for Rutstein. She will set up her studio aboard the R/V Atlantis and create new works inspired by this unique experience and with data being collected.

Rutstein’s exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art will feature a 64-foot long interactive steel sculptural installation that contains reactive LED lights that mimic the movements of the viewer. The sculpture is influenced by hydrocarbon structures and bioluminescence present in Guaymas Basin. The exhibition also features a 22-foot tall painting, Progenitor, inspired by Rutstein’s descent 2,200 meters to the ocean floor at Guaymas Basin. Among other works, she will exhibit a large banner mural at the Lamar Dodd School of Art.

Rutstein will participate in lectures, panels and public engagements in Georgia throughout the year, including at the upcoming a2Ru 2018 national conference, “Arts Environments: Design, Resilience, and Sustainability” hosted by University of Georgia, Nov 1-3.

ABOUT THE AWARD:

The Delta Visiting Chair, established by University of Georgia’s Willson Center through the support of The Delta Air Lines Foundation, hosts outstanding global scholars, intellectuals and artists who engage with the UGA community. Through lectures, seminars and programs, they present global problems by addressing pressing contemporary questions about the economy, society, and the environment with a focus on how the arts can impact major contemporary issues. Its first honoree was Alice Walker in 2015.

The chair is founded upon the legacy of the Delta Prize for Global Understanding, which from 1997-2011 was presented to individuals – including Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter – whose initiatives promoted world peace by advancing understanding and cooperation among cultures and nations. For more information:https://deltachair.uga.edu/

To see full press release, click here

CHATAUQUA INSTITUTION
TIES THAT BIND

Fowler-Kellog Art Center
Chatauqua, NY

June 24 – July 17, 2018

Artist Reception June 24, 3-5pm

For more information: chq.org/season/arts-entertainment/visual-arts/exhibitions

SHERRY LEEDY CONTEMPORARY

Kansas City, MO

June 1 – Aug 11, 2018

Artist Talk & Reception on May 31, 6-8pm
First Friday Reception on June 1, 7-9pm
For more information: sherryleedy@sherryleedy.com

OCEAN, HARBOR, BAY:
A FOCUS ON CONSERVANCY

Bristol, RI

April 27 – June 3, 2018

Reception: April 27th
Artist Talk: June 3, 1:30-2:30
For more information: bristolartmuseum.org/2018-bam-exhibitions.html

A 2017 work by Rutstein was recently acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art
for their permanent collection.

Opening March 1 thru April 30th

Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia is pleased to announce that The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Museum has added two Rebecca Rutstein works from 2017 to their collection. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States. Bridgette Mayer commented: “Rebecca and I are thrilled to have her works grace the collection of PAFA’s museum and be able to be shared by a broader audience. Rebecca has been working and exhibiting in Philadelphia and beyond for twenty years and this is a very exciting moment for her.” For more information on Rutstein’s work please visit www.bridgettemayergallery.com

Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Sept 19 – 25, 2017

Rutstein is invited to be a participant in an Artist/Scientist Collaborative Workshop called “Ocean Memory” at University of Washington’s, Friday Harbor Laboratories, on San Juan Island off the Pacific Coast.  

The collective goal will be to reach across wildly divergent scientific and artistic practices to broaden understanding and awareness of all ways in which the ocean, especially the deep ocean, may retain and express memory.

The program has been developed by:

Tim Broderick / Wright State Research Institute
Daniel Kohn / Artist, Kohn Workshop
Alyson Santoro / Marine Microbiology, University of California at Santa Barbara
Jody Deming / Marine Microbiology, University of Washington
Margot Knight / Director, Djerassi Artist Residency

“Ocean” Exhibition

Sept 16, 2017 – Feb 28, 2018

Opening reception, Sun Oct 1, 3-5pm

Work created on the Falkor Research Vessel is on view at the Bishop Museum following exhibitions at the San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival, Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and America’s Cup in Bermuda. The exhibition will continue to Newport, Rhode Island in October, and then to Scripps Ocean Institute in San Diego.

https://www.bishopmuseum.org/artists-at-sea/

Rebecca Rutstein: Convergence

August 18–September 29, 2017

John Hartell Gallery
Cornell University
College of Architecture, Art & Planning
129 Sibley Dome
Ithaca, NY 14853

Reception Friday, September 15, 5 p.m.
Artist talk at reception

32 Degrees Latitude
June 15-Aug 5^th, 2017
Reception: Thursday, June 15, 4:30-8pm
Artist Talk, Sat June 17, 1:30-2:30pm

California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks
1948 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

(Excerpt from Press Release)
The California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (CMATO) proudly announces the winners from our Inaugural International Juried Art Exhibition – 32 Degrees Latitude. Out of hundreds of applications received from around the globe, only three artists were selected to exhibit at CMATO this summer.

Featured Artist: Rebecca Rutstein
CMATO is honored to showcase Rebecca Rutstein, a Philadelphia-based artist whose works are based on her interest in technology, geology, maps and the undercurrents that continually shape and reshape the world. Her large scale landscape sculptures and paintings are inspired by her prestigious residency aboard two scientific naval exploration vessels that traveled the world. From these missions, Rutstein has mined the satellite and sonar data to present the wild, unbounded grandeur of the natural world with a technological sublimity that grasps at the infinite possibilities suggested by computers. Jennifer Li, Art in America contributor, writes in the exhibition catalogue,

“With her unique background and experience on board the Nautilus and the Falkor, Rutstein brought back reports not of measurable figures, but paintings and sculptures that give form to the nebulous enigma of the sea and its terrain, inspiring and propelling the scientific community and general public with visual poetry and portraits of the Sublime.”

Read the Essay by Jennifer Li, Contributing Writer to Art in America

Catalogue available
for more information, contact tgreenwood@cmato.org

Fault Lines

June 30-Aug 12^th, 2017
Reception: Friday, June 30th 5-7pm
Artist Talk, Sat July 1, 2-3pm
Catalogue available

Zane Bennett Contemporary
Form & Concept
435 S Guadalupe St. Santa Fe, NM

“When your painting studio is set adrift on the open sea, things can get a little messy. Philadelphia-based painter Rebecca Rutstein spent her last three artist residencies in close quarters with oceanographic cartographers, examining never-before-seen images of the ocean floor and translating what she learned into undulating, semi-abstract paintings. She grew accustomed to the constant motion of the boat and its unpredictable effect on her brushstrokes. In Fault Lines, her first-ever solo exhibition in New Mexico, Rutstein returns to dry land. Using the sunburnt palette of the high desert, the artist turns her attention to seismic events that occur deep in the Earth’s crust—and employs some tricks she learned at sea to imbue her compositions with dynamic motion.”

Rutstein is exhibiting (8) 18 x 18″ paintings in the exhibition Artist at Sea, which continues through 2017 at the following venues:

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute / May 2017
America’s Cup Bermuda / June 2017
Newport, Rhode Island / Sept 2017
Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI / Oct 2017

For exhibition information, please contact Carlie Weiner at cwiener@schmidtocean.org
For sales inquiries, please contact Bridgette Mayer at bmayer@bmayerart.com

May 26-October 22, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, May 26, 5-8 pm
Form & Concept’s roster of represented artists has been steadily growing all year, making for a varied and dynamic One-Year Anniversary Exhibition. Featured artists include Heidi Brandow, Heather Bradley, Matthew Mullins, Wesley Anderegg, Debra Baxter, Brett Kern, Armond Lara, Matthew Szosz, Rebecca Rutstein, Elana Schwartz, Mark Newport and an array of jewelry artists in the form & concept shop.

Zane Bennett Contemporary / Form & Concept
435 S Guadalupe St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505.982.8111
For more information contact: Frank Rose, Director, at FrankR@zanebennettgallery.com

In March, Rutstein gave a public lecture and individual studio critiques with senior art students at Moore College of Art & Design.

Four archival, limited-edition prints are now available.
For purchase inquiries, please contact Bridgette Mayer at bmayer@bmayerart.com




 

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Rutstein’s work created at sea on the R/V Falkor will travel in a group exhibition organized by Schmidt Ocean Institute to San Francisco, CA. The work will subsequently travel to the America’s Cup in Bermuda, a new venue in Newport, Rhode Island, and back to Honolulu, Hawaii at the Bishop Museum. More info to follow.

​Rutstein will show work created while at sea on the R/V Falkor in a group exhibition organized by Schmidt Ocean Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii. The work will subsequently travel to venues in Bermuda and San Francisco. More info to follow.

plume I, 18 x 18″, acrylic on canvas, 2016. Created on board the R/V Falkor from Vietnam to Guam.