Thursday, September 13, 2018

Out of the Darkness: Light in the Depths of the Sea of Cortez

Rebecca Rutstein, Progenitor I, 2018. Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 108 inches.    
Starting November 1, visitors to the Georgia Museum of Art can experience the work of Rebecca Rutstein in a new exhibition titled “Out of the Darkness: Light in the Depths of the Sea of Cortez.” Comprised of two types of installations, sculptural and painting, Rutstein’s show is connected to her upcoming expedition at sea to Mexico’s Guaymas Basin Spreading Center to study thermal vents with Mandy Joye, a University of Georgia professor in the department of marine sciences. Rutstein has described her work as connecting her many interests, saying, “Working with sonar maps and other oceanic data in collaboration with scientists, much of my recent work and upcoming projects focus on shedding light on a world hidden from view. These visual experiences are meant to deepen one’s connection to these unseen places in the spirit of fostering understanding, empathy and conservancy of our oceans in the face of climate change.”

The sculptural installation, on view November 1, 2018 through October 27, 2019, spans 11 x 64 feet, and is comprised of 11 powder coated carbon steel elements and an LED interactive lighting program. The molecular forms within the sculpture are related to the structure of hydrocarbon, which Rutstein and others are studying in the Guaymas Basin. The LED interactive lighting component represents the two forms of bioluminescence present at Guaymas.

The second half of her exhibition, comprised of paintings, will include four tiled canvases, stretching to approximately 22 x 9 feet across the north wall in the main lobby of the museum. Each canvas is unique, but they are related to the other works through, among other things, line, color, layering and pattern. This portion of the exhibition will be on view November 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019.

Deputy director Annelies Mondi is the curator for this exhibition, and related programming for the show includes 90 Carlton: Winter on February 8, 2019. Additionally, Rutstein is serving as the upcoming Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding through the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts.

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Taylor Lear
Department of Communications

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