Esther Ruiz – Static Limit

Esther Ruiz – Static Limit

May 18 – June 30, 2017
Opening reception: May 18, 6 – 8 PM

Ruiz_Black

Esther Ruiz, Well XII (starry II), 2017, neon, plexiglas, MDF, and hardware, 1 of 5 (1AP), 25 ½ by 18 by 3 ½ inches

Press Release
Installation Images
2017 Ruiz ArtFCity

yours mine & ours is pleased to present, Static Limit, Esther Ruiz’s first solo exhibition in New York City. Consisting of a free standing sculpture and multiple editions of the same wall-hung work, the lower gallery is an immersive installation of neon, mimicking the namesake of the show. Referring to the space around a rotating black hole, Static Limit is as close as one can get to the darkness before being consumed.

Ruiz’s Wells are central to the exhibition, these editioned wall-hung sculptures reference celestial or aquatic bodies that one would normally look down into. Presented on the wall, they offer a shift in perspective becoming portals or wormholes to another dimension and beg the viewer to question alternative realities.

The Wells are not the perfect geometry or the clean lines of her art historical beacon: Dan Flavin. Breaking from the stark coolness of Flavin, Ruiz’s sculptures draw reference to the natural world and acknowledge the existence of the artist’s hand. Originating from a single line drawing, each pearlescent or glitter form references the shape of a country or another planet, further still, perhaps an allusion to another plane of existence.

While firmly grounded in minimalism, Ruiz’s material selection of neon, Plexiglas, and cement, are also rooted in common household objects–offering warmer references and inviting the viewer to consider these pieces within one’s own personal space. Volume V, the single free standing sculpture in the exhibition, asserts a feeling of a tome or an appliance from the “World of Tomorrow.” Without instruction, this piece goes un-used becoming a small monument to the possibility of the future.

Throughout the exhibition, Ruiz’s materiality offers a literal and figurative signal. Calling to mind a light fixture meant to catch the eye and draw someone in from the street. Like moths to a flame or bugs to a zapper, Ruiz’s work plays on one’s inability to turn away from the warmth of a glowing object. Taking her viewer to the brink, Ruiz challenges her audience to explore the depth beyond the darkness.

Esther Ruiz received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Rhodes College in 2011. She has shown nationally and internationally at various galleries including New Release Gallery, Planthouse Gallery, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Platform Baltimore, Vox Populi, Field Projects, Fridman Gallery, Regina Rex, and The American Center for Physics. Spaceworks has awarded her the Artist Grant and Williamsburg Studio Lottery. She was born in Houston, Texas, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.