ARTIST STATEMENT
As a woman, dancer, choreographer, teacher and a visual artist, I have found that painting weaves together my many passions. My work has moved from sculptures made of fiber and found objects into assemblages,collages and figurative works. Presently, I am painting several bodies of work. One series Interplays elements of cement, glass, sand and found objects into thick acrylic or oil paint. These materials form layers and textures, pulling the viewer into and around the work, producing the possibility of very personal interpretations.
Another series portrays the human figure, frequently life size, often painted on multiple canvases, breaking up the figure and creating unexpected negative spaces.
My most recent paintings are bold and highly textured.
These pieces are born out of my former career in dance when I studied, performed and choreographed with major modern dancers in this country; Martha Graham, Alwin Nicolais, Merce Cunningham and others. The compositions are reminiscent of my exposure and involvement in a three-dimensional space translated into a two-dimensional format. Much of my work breaks away from the traditional picture plane and moves into sculptural forms on the wall.
These pieces are born out of my former career in dance when I studied, performed and choreographed with major modern dancers in this country; Martha Graham, Alwin Nicolais, Merce Cunningham and others. The compositions are reminiscent of my exposure and involvement in a three-dimensional space translated into a two-dimensional format. Much of my work breaks away from the traditional picture plane and moves into sculptural forms on the wall.
I want a kinesthetic response; a desire to touch, sensuality and, ultimately,
I want the observer to be pulled into and around each piece as in a dance. - Ruth Bauer Neustadter
SELF PORTRAIT
A Poem By
Ruth Bauer Neustadter
My life feels like a weaving
Separate pieces of thread
Different colors, varied textures
Always working at putting together
Uniting intimately
Fitting schedules, needs, commitments
Intertwining thoughts, relationships
Connecting people, ideas, truths
Intermixing teaching, dance, art, politics, environment
Interlacing love, friendship, childhood, family
Making a cohesive unit of
Paints, found objects, canvases, always searching for something
Finding peaceful moments, solitude, depth
It is all done with energy and ease
A painting, a tapestry, that Intertwines my many threads
There for me and you to see
Rippling earthiness
A mirror of myself.