Ruth Miller: Painted Presence is the second in a series of monographs published by Grid Books, showcasing fine art curated through artistic collaboration and intergenerational exchange. Conceptualized and curated by Tulsa artist and former student of Miller’s, Mark Lewis, this collection features sixty full-color reproductions of paintings and drawings by Ruth Miller, as well as writings by contemporaries closely connected to the artist and her work, including Eric Aho, Alix Bailey, Riley Brewster, Graham Nickson, and Karen Wilkin, among others.
Each contributor has chosen a painting or drawing to write about, many selecting from their own private collections. In addition to previously exhibited paintings, this volume offers a view of works by Miller we have not seen before, accompanied by reflections–both studied and distinctly personal–written by her contemporaries. The result is an illuminating and intimate collection of work by an artist who, to date, has been underrepresented in print.
FEATURING WRITING BY
Eric Aho. Alix Bailey. Laura Battle. Riley Brewster. Susanna Coffey. Dennis Congdon. Marianne Gagnier. Glenn Goldberg. John Goodrich. Barbara Grossman. Alison Hall. Elisa Jensen. Deborah Kahn. Anki King. Jessica Kogel. Mark Lewis. Stanley Lewis. Ying Li. Susan Lichtman. Ro Lohin. Ron Milewicz. John Mitchell. Jenny Lynn McNutt. Graham Nickson. Janice Nowinski. Stephanie Pierce. Stuart Shils. Kim Sloane. Ty Smith. Clintel Steed. Gwen Strahle. Susan Walp. Karen Wilkin.
About the Artist
The painter Ruth Miller has taught at the New York Studio School, Queens College, Parsons School of Design, University of Hartford, Yale University Summer School, Studio Art School of the Aegean in Samos, Greece, and International School of Art in Umbria, Italy. Her work has been exhibited at the Bowery Gallery (NY), Lohin Geduld Gallery (NY), National Academy of Design Museum, New York Studio School Gallery, Alexander Hogue Gallery (Tulsa, OK), and the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University. Her work can be found in collections at the Delaware Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery, National Academy of Design, University of Delaware and Bryn Mawr College, as well as in private collections throughout the United States and Europe. More recently, her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Lohin Geduld Gallery (NY) and at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson, NY.
Miller is a member of the National Academy of Design and of Zeuxis, an association of still life painters. She is the recipient of the Emil and Dines Carlsen Still Life Award (1997), the Benjamin Altman Landscape Prize (1999), and the Henry Ward Ranger Purchase Award (2000) and she has twice been awarded grants by the Ingram Merrill Foundation.
About the Curator
Mark Lewis studied art at Oklahoma State University, the Kansas City Art Institute, where he received his BFA in Painting, and later at Yale University in Connecticut where he received his MFA. He has taught at several institutions including adjunct and visiting artist positions at American University, Georgetown University, the New York Studio School, Mt Gretna School of Art, Chautauqua, and the University of Virginia.
Lewis recently retired from teaching painting, drawing, and collage, at the University of Tulsa. He is represented by the Bowery Gallery in New York City.
“Ruth is a warrior with a brush creating epic narratives through a bowl and wine jug.
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“The magic I feel when I see these paintings of Ruth’s is not that of folklore or myth but rather its a sensation of toggling between worlds; inner, outer, private, impersonal, sensitive and objectively rigorous.
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“Instantaneously the painting says to me, light is time, time is light, and painting is both. All of it feels like a gift.
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Grid Books is a non-profit publisher whose mission is to foreground creative work that springs from the margins. Please help us carry this mission forward with this exciting and important collection of Ruth Miller’s work by making a tax-deductible donation today.
