AIABaltimore Gallery Exhibit Committee: March-April 2008

RUTH CONNELL PAINTINGS

AIABaltimore Gallery, March 6 – April 29, 2008
First Thursday Opening Receptions: March 6, 5 – 8 p.m. and April 3, 5 – 8 p.m.

Artist’s Statement:

My work explores the edge between natural, organic forms and their abstraction.

I often begin painting with specific images from nature, such as foliage, flowers, fruits and landscapes. The complexity of the natural forms is transformed into simplified shapes and color relationships. Color relationships are distilled into heightened complementary dichotomies. As I paint, I consciously work to abstract the natural forms.

The still life "Between" was inspired while exploring the glass house at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables. The viewer is cast inside a space, looking through tropical leaves suffused with light from an indeterminate source.

Layering the illusion, of transparency, interpenetration and color relationships, drive my explorations in art. My experience as an architect is reflected in my interest of spatial relationships within the pictorial picture plane.

Recently I have been working with allegorical images and symbolism. I like images of the natural world that provoke an emotional response, and hope that my work as an artist will advance our collective desire to conserve the natural environment.

– Ruth Connell

Artist’s Biography

Ruth has studied painting with the Annapolis-based artist Leonard Koscianski. She is a member of several artists groups, including the Artists’ Association of St. John, USVI. Ruth received an art history Bachelor’s degree from Vassar College, prior to earning her Master of Architecture degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ruth Connell, Architect, AIA, has been a member of the AIA since 1986, and volunteers with the AIABaltimore chapter as its Treasurer on the Board of Directors. She is the Coordinator for the Graduate Program in Architecture at Morgan State University, where she is an Associate Professor. Ruth has been a well-respected architectural design studio instructor and critic, in addition to teaching the history and theory of architecture, historic preservation, and other architectural subjects. She taught both architectural and urban design in Poland as a designated Senior Fulbright Scholar. Ruth Connell, AIA, is licensed to practice architecture in Maryland and Florida, and does a limited amount of residential design consultation.

For more information, please contact the artist-architect at ruth@ruthconnell.org.