Both/And

Louis Buhl Gallery
Detroit, MI

November 11, 2021 -
January 6, 2022

Louis Buhl & Co. is pleased to present Both/And, a solo exhibition of unique works by detroit-based artist Ellen Rutt. Across a range of physical and digital media, murals, paintings, performance, installations and collage, Rutt uses an abstract lexicon of color and form to study intangible ideas like boundaries and expansion. Both/And will focus on their “Place Paintings” series—a term they have coined for their body of environmentally-focused action paintings. The works on canvas are made outside of the studio in a wide range of environments—forests, deserts, rural fields, cities, dumpsters, recycling centers, abandoned buildings and even lakes—that speak to the complex and contradicting intersections of consumption, place, identity, and nature.

Rutt begins her “Place Paintings” by taking a raw, unstretched canvas and free-writing her innermost thoughts, fears, and desires in that moment, motivated by the urgency to navigate her feelings and uncover a new layer of vulnerability. Following Rutt wherever she goes, the canvases trace elements from the surrounding environments through a cathartic process of pushing, pulling, rubbing, dragging and spilling. Involving natural components such as sand and dirt along with paint, the method is akin to performance, where Rutt’s actions and movements, driven by her disposition, guide the resulting imagery. Not only is the environment a leading agent in the production of Rutt’s paintings, but its well-being is also a concern that informs her way of life. Over the past several years, she has been working towards utilizing materials that are plastic-free, renewable, biodegradable, or otherwise non-toxic. For the body of work featured in Both/And, they primarily used milk paint, a non-toxic, eco-friendly combination of milk and casein as the binder.