Brian Rutenberg-Camellia

BRIAN RUTENBERG Came l l i a

Brian Rutenberg in his New York studio Humidity made me a painter. I was raised in the mind numbing heat of the South Carolina Lowcountry, much of what I know about painting came from sitting next to ancient rivers like the Santee and by feeling warm pluff mud squirt between my toes as I ambled from one vantage point to another, desperate to contain the view in obdurate oil paint. Those direct experiences taught me how to discover a place and craft it simultaneously. As a child of the coast I fell in love with oysters from an early age. At low tide their shells, delicate as pastries, cupped shallow puddles of saltwater and pale mud. I’d lie on my stomach closely examining their color, just a breath of itself, and imagine swimming around in their palm sized oceans. Decades later I realized that this was not the daydreaming of a child but the mechanics of how a painter sees the world. Scale and logic go away to be replaced by a new reality which is bright and capricious. There isn’t a color color more beautiful than that of an oyster shell. Well, maybe that of a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut. In spring my mother would place clear bowls of pink camellia blossoms floating in water on our bedside tables. I’d watch them drift and spin for hours as my eyelids grew heavy. Southern children are taught to drink in the wondrous details of the local landscape; a flower isn’t just a flower but Blue Water Hyssop or Southern Marsh Canna, birds are Black Bellied Whistling Ducks or Red Footed Boobies, barbecue sauce is light tomato, heavy tomato, mustard, or vinegar. Poetry lives in details and the artist’s job is to intensify them. A painter should limit their job description as narrowly as possible; I’m not an artist, not a painter, not even a landscape painter, but a Southern landscape painter who has lived and worked in New York City for the past 28 years. That’s my superpower under the sun. The narrower the job description the broader the umbrella under which I can work. What exactly am I trying to accomplish as a Southern landscape painter? To experience transcendence one must know their origins. Where do you come from? What place stacked your bones into the shape of you? I’ve never needed a position because I have a place. This new body of work is titled Camellia because my paintings always begin and end in the local. All of the content is on the tip of the brush because there isn’t room there for anything else.

Brian Rutenberg

Cover Detail: VANISH 2015 Oil on Linen 46 x 58 inches

BRIAN RUTENBERG Came l l ia

November 7, 2015 - January 2, 2016

Essay by Grace Cote

625 South Sharon Amity Road Charlotte, NC 28211 704.365.3000 gallery@jeraldmelberg.com www.jeraldmelberg.com

CAMELLIA new paintings Brian Rutenberg is tied so tightly to the visual impressions of his youth that he has dedicated his career to honoring them. These paintings are another concentrated effort at knowing the South Carolina Lowcountry, where bursting colors are transformed by hazy, hot blankets of humidity. He seeks it out on large canvases, both horizontal and vertical, with color palettes ranging the spectrum. This new body of work is notable because Rutenberg has simplified his compositions and in doing so has pushed them back toward the recognizable. This simplicity yields a clearer depiction: compositions suggest oaks clustered at the edge of a marsh, or toothpick-like pine trees pushing through thick underbrush. They are natural, unmarred places that could be sourced from anyone’s memory. Unlike artists who want to master their medium, Rutenberg wishes to converse with his. He asks questions of his paint and lets it respond: he smooths it or builds thickness with brushes and palette knives, using his fingers to press, push, mold and scrape. He approaches his medium as a sculptor would a hand built ceramic vessel, repetitiously adding and blending. Most of the compositions follow a basic outline: abstract, spindly tree trunks spread over horizon lines that creep from dark to light like a sea transitioning to sky on a hazy day. Colors deepen at the left, right and bottom edges of his canvases, supporting a u-shaped source of light. Depth is created in this vanishing point with velvety, paint-blended cold wax medium which is framed by paint so thick that it physically reaches out, beckoning with dimensional texture.

In each painting, Rutenberg chooses a tone that will dominate the color palette. In two identically sized canvases, Soft Rush and Larkspur , the composition is similar but the palette ranges to extremes; Soft Rush is a study of all tones of turquoise and blue, while Larkspur identifies the hues between citrine and tan, with purples added for good measure. Though Camellia is a thirteen foot long diptych composed of a range of colors, its pink hues drive and organize the monumental work. It is the most comprehensive homage to all the things he loves: color, paint and expansive linen canvas. Each of the painting titles in this body of work is specific to the Lowcountry and coastal Carolinas, but more personally, a majority reference specific plants the artist knew as a boy. His selection is diverse, ranging from grasses ( Soft Rush ) to pungent flowers ( Hyacinth ) to bushes ( Blackjack and Boxwood ). The color that viewers may associate with these title-granting plants is typically not the hue the artist chose, but Rutenberg never promised he would show us what we have already seen. Instead he grants access to a world of color not readily known to us. The body of work that comprises Camellia represents a return for the artist. First, there is a return to recognizable imagery. Although he explored this style in his earlier work, Rutenberg comes back to it fresh from – and changed by – a more abstract period. As a result, what we see now is an anonymous yet suggestive imagery. Second, there is a welcome return to landscape scenes of the coastal south. This is a place that adoring audiences will come to learn Rutenberg has no plans to leave.

Grace Cote

WAX MYRTLE 2015 Oil on Linen 55 x 68 inches

HYACINTH 2015 Oil on Linen 55 x 43 inches

ASTER 2015 Oil on Linen 55 x 43 inches

INK BERRY 2015 Oil on Linen 55 x 68 inches

PHLOX 2015 Oil on Linen 48 x 82 inches

REEDS RISE 2015 Oil on Linen 48 x 82 inches

SOFT RUSH 2015 Oil on Linen 58 x 46 inches

LARKSPUR 2015 Oil on Linen 58 x 46 inches

CAMELLIA 2014-15 Oil on Linen 63 x 164 inches

SEA GLASS 2015 Oil on Linen 48 x 90 inches

SEA GLASS 2 2015 Oil on Linen 52 x 68 inches

SEA GLASS 3 2015 Oil on Linen 68 x 55 inches

NINE BARK 2015 Oil on Linen 68 x 55 inches

PHLOX 2 2015 Oil on Linen 46 x 58 inches

SOFT RUSH 2 2015 Oil on Linen 46 x 58 inches

BOXWOOD 2015 Oil on Linen 55 x 68 inches

BLACKJACK 2015 Oil on Linen 60 x 82 inches

BRIAN RUTENBERG b. 1965, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

2011

Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, CA

EDUCATION M.F.A., School of Visual Arts, New York, NY B.F.A., College of Charleston, Charleston, SC AWARDS New York Foundation for The Arts Grant Spring Island Trust Award Peter S. Reed Foundation Award Sea Island Trust Visiting Artist Fulbright Scholarship to Ireland Artists Work Programme Studio Grant, Irish Museum of Modern Art Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Basil Alkazzi Award USA Ragdale Foundation Fellowship MFA Scholarship Award, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY Laura Bragg Memorial Award SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Cotuit Center for the Arts, Cotuit, ME Forum Gallery, New York, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Toomey Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, CA

2009

1989 1987

2008

2007 2006

Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2004 2002 2000

South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, SC Toomey Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, CA David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN Forum Gallery, New York, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Cress Gallery, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN Toomey Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC John Raimondi Gallery, Vitale, Caturano & Co., Boston, MA Forum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Tippy Stern Fine Art, Charleston, SC The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Colorado Springs, CO Butler Institute of American Art, Warren, OH

2005 2004

1997

1993 1991

2003

2002

1988

2001 2000

1987

Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Tippy Stern Fine Art, Charleston, SC Schmidt-Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2015

1999

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Gallery, Toronto, Canada A special exhibition sponsored by the Glenn Gould Foundation Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC University of South Carolina, Beaufort, SC Fine Arts Center of Camden County, Camden, SC Wells Gallery, Charleston, SC

2014

1998

2012

1997 1996

Schmidt-Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY

2009

Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC National Academy of Design, 181st Annual Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Art, New York, NY Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, CA Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Transamerica Corporation Gallery, San Francisco, CA Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY San Francisco International Art Fair, San Francisco, CA Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, CA Forum Gallery, New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC

Halsey Gallery, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC National Library of Canada, Glenn Gould Exhibition Website, Ottawa, Canada Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY Louise Wells Cameron Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI Fridholm Gallery, Asheville, NC Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, CA Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC Fridholm Gallery, Asheville, NC Fridholm Gallery, Asheville, NC Francis Marion College Art Gallery, Florence, SC

2008

1995

2007

1994

2006

1993

2005

1992 1989

2004

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR Rebekah Jacob Gallery, Charleston, SC Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Forum Gallery, New York, NY

2015 2014 2013

2003

2012

2002

2011

2001 2000

2010

BRIAN RUTENBERG

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR Asheville Museum of Art, Asheville, NC Bally’s Casinos Corporation, Atlantic City, NJ Bank of America, San Francisco, CA Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, NY

McGladrey, Charlestown, MA Mirabella V Collection, London Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA Naples Art Museum, Naples, FL Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY Ogden Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA The Ozer Group, Needham, MA Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA Provincetown Art Association, Provincetown, MA Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, CA Saks Fifth Avenue, San Francisco, CA South Carolina Arts Commission State Art Collection, Columbia, SC South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, SC Spring Island Trust, Spring Island, SC Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH Stoneridge Corporation, Warren, OH Strategic Search Inc., Charlotte, NC Swiss RE Corporation, New York, NY University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH Carolina First Bank, Greenville, SC College of Charleston Foundation, Charleston, SC The Colony Group, Boston, MA Comcast Corporation, Philadelphia, PA Dow Jones & Co., New York, NY Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond, VA First National Bank of Chicago, Detroit, MI Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, SC Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC

Vitale, Caturano, & Co., Boston, MA Wilmington Trust Co., New York, NY Yale University Museum of Art, New Haven, CT

GALLERY ARTISTS

Charles Basham Romare Bearden (Estate) Ernesto Berra Christopher Clamp Raul Diaz Susan Grossman Lee Hall Hans Hofmann (Estate) Rick Horton (Estate) Wolf Kahn Ida Kohlmeyer (Estate) Robert Kushner Richard Mayberry Thomas McNickle Robert Motherwell (Estate) Reuben Nakian (Estate) Manuel Reyna James Rosati (Estate) Brian Rutenberg Richard Stenhouse Ramon Urbán Felicia van Bork Esteban Vicente (Estate)

Published on the occasion of the exhibition

BRIAN RUTENBERG Came l l ia November 7, 2015 - January 2, 2016

Jerald Melberg Gallery Inc. 625 South Sharon Amity Road Charlotte, NC 28211 704.365.3000 704.365.3016 Fax gallery@jeraldmelberg.com www.jeraldmelberg.com

Photography by Christopher Clamp

Graphic Design by Gaybe Johnson Printed by Boingo Graphics

Publication Copyright © 2015 Jerald Melberg Gallery Inc. All Rights Reserved

WORKS AVAILABLE

ISBN: 978-1-6827-3034-8

J. Bardin Oscar Bluemner Norman Bluhm William Partridge Burpee Gordon Onslow Ford

625 South Sharon Amity Road Charlotte, NC 28211 704.365.3000 gallery@jeraldmelberg.com www.jeraldmelberg.com