The Bridgette Mayer Gallery is delighted to announce gallery artist Rebecca Rutstein’s distinguished award as the Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding from the University of Georgia as well as her upcoming solo exhibition, Out of the Darkness: Light in the depths of the Sea of Cortez at the Georgia Museum of Art.
Rutstein’s year-long appointment as the Delta Visiting Chair includes an expedition to Mexico’s Guaymas Basin in the Sea of Cortez, and deep-sea dive aboard the Alvin submersible vessel, to explore hydrothermal vents, microbiology and carbon cycling processes with oceanographer and University of Georgia Professor Samantha Joye. The exceedingly rare opportunity for an artist to be invited onboard the venerated, two-person submarine, is an honor and lifelong dream come true for Rutstein. She will set up her studio aboard the R/V Atlantis and create new works inspired by this unparalleled experience and with data being collected.
Rutstein’s exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art will feature a stunning 64 ft long interactive steel sculpture that contains reactive LED lights that mimic the movements of the viewer. The sculpture is influenced by hydrocarbon structures and bioluminescence present in Guaymas Basin. The exhibition also features a 22 ft tall painting, Progenitor, inspired by Rutstein’s descent 2,200 meters to the ocean floor at Guaymas Basin.
About the Award:
The Delta Visiting Chair, established by University of Georgia’s Willson Center through the support of The Delta Air Lines Foundation, hosts outstanding global scholars, intellectuals and artists who engage with the UGA community. Through lectures, seminars and programs, they present global problems by addressing pressing contemporary questions about the economy, society, and the environment with a focus on how the arts can impact major contemporary issues. Its first honoree was Alice Walker in 2015. The chair is founded upon the legacy of the Delta Prize for Global Understanding, which from 1997-2011 was presented to individuals – including Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter – whose initiatives promoted world peace by advancing understanding and cooperation among cultures and nations.
About the Artist:
Award-winning artist and part ocean explorer, Philadelphia-based Rebecca Rutstein creates work inspired by geology, microbiology, and marine science. Rutstein has amassed a vast exhibition record of her paintings, sculpture and public art throughout the United States, including more than 25 solo exhibitions at venues such as Sherry Leedy Contemporary (Kansas City, MO, 2018), California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (Thousand Oaks, CA, 2017), John Hartell Gallery (Ithaca, NY, 2017), and the Bridgette Mayer Gallery (Philadelphia, PA, 2015, 2013, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2002), among many others. Rutstein is the recipient of the prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts, a Percent for Art Commission with Temple University, and an Independence Foundation Fellowship. Her work has been featured on NPR, in the Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post, and can be found in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Museum. Since 2001, Rutstein has also been represented by the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.