The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami will present the first comprehensive museum survey of interdisciplinary artist Sterling Ruby. The extensive presentation will spotlight over 50 artworks spanning Ruby’s signature sculptures, massive polyurethane pieces, metal works as well as spray-painted canvasses. One of the more notable selections includes Ruby’s ‘Basin Theology’ ceramics series that were all handmade and draw inspiration from his mother’s vast archive of pottery and dishware. In addition, the artist will present his large-scale ‘QUILT’ and ‘FLAG’ series that subvert American quilt-making traditions. The aforesaid works will be displayed alongside soft sculptures including the ‘DOUBLE CANDLE (6992)’ (2019) and ‘Double Vampire’ (2013) pieces.
“Since his earliest works, Ruby has investigated the role of the artist as outsider. Critiquing the structures of modernism and traditional institutions, Ruby addresses the repressed underpinnings of American culture and the coding of power and violence,” said ICA Miami in a press statement. “Craft is central to his inquiry, as he explores traditions from Amish quilt-making to California’s radical ceramics tradition, shaped by his upbringing in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Organized loosely by chronology and medium, Sterling Ruby considers the artist’s explorations of these themes across the many materials and forms he has utilized throughout his practice, including many innovations.”
Altogether the exhibition sheds light on the artist’s uncanny mastery of mixed mediums, his ongoing sustainable practice of reusing scraps from previous works in new pieces, and his “artist as the outsider” ethos that informs his multi-disciplinary approach.
The massive exhibition will launch at ICA Miami on November 7 until February 2, 2020. It will then go on view at the ICA/Boston from February 26 through May 26, 2020. Visit ICA Miami’s website for further details.
This June, Sterling Ruby marked his foray as a solo designer by presenting his first collection from his fledgling S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA. label.
ICA Miami
61 NE 41st St.
Miami, FL 33137
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