The Window Project ft. Esther Ruiz

Well XXXII, 2022
neon, acrylic, MDF, electronic components, paint 
28H x 23.5 x 4 inches

Well XXXVIII, 2024
Neon, acrylic mirror, MDF, hardware, paint
30H x 23.25 x 4 inches

Well XXXIII, 2022
neon, acrylic, MDF, electronic components, paint 
28H x 23.5 x 4 inches

Press Release

The Exhibition

Esther Ruiz’s work examines the micro and macro relationships between our interior landscapes, our immediate known world, and the vastness of the universe. Her sculptures act as relics of these mental excursions, compelling viewers to apply their own personal narrative and point of view in their interpretations of the known and unknown.

Predicated on both material and metaphysical investigations, Ruiz has developed several distinct bodies of work over the years, including Beacons, Land Samples, Volumes and Wells, among others. Ruiz draws on the languages of Minimalism and Pop, creating brightly colored neon-lit geometric forms.

The mirrored wall works - the Wells - serve as wormholes or entry points to these cerebral landscapes, while the freestanding and wall mounted sculptures act as objects from these landscapes. The Volumes act as a stand-in for familiar domestic objects, perhaps as tomes containing foreign information, laden with uncertain functionality, suggesting humanistic utilitarian function with enigmatic qualities that evoke mysterious qualities of an unknown civilization.

Ruiz’s hand-carved forms are outfitted with bands of neon each distinct in style and shape, balancing industrial materials with the wonders of the natural world they reflect. The result is a suite of whimsical, yet complex, structures that examine the dichotomy between visual perception and spiritual elevation.

Biography

Esther Ruiz (b. Houston) received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Rhodes College in 2011. She has shown nationally and internationally at various galleries with solo exhibitions at The Aldrich Museum Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Chart Gallery in New York, The Schneider Museum of Art in Ashland, Oregon, Reynolds Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions at galleries including Tripoli Gallery, CHART, Monaco, Sobering Galerie, Deslave Tijuana, LVL3, and the Torrance Art Museum, among others. She has been featured in The Washington Post, Art News Magazine, Art F City and VICE. She has also been a visiting artist at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, New York, School of Visual Arts, New York, New York, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Santa Barbra City College among others. Ruiz currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.