Brian Christopher Rutenberg (born September 18, 1965, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) is an American abstract painter. Rutenberg received his BFA from the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

in 1987 and his MFA from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in New York City in 1989. He currently lives and works in New York City.

Early life

Brian Rutenberg was born on September 18 in

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, South Carolina, the first of three sons, to John and Sandra Rutenberg. He attended private school at Myrtle Beach's Coastal Academy from 1974 through 1983. After demonstrating a long-term interest in drawing, Rutenberg began after school

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

classes, and conducted his own experiments with

acrylic paints Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depe ...

. In 1983 Rutenberg began his studies at the College of Charleston, where he met and studied under abstract painter William Melton Halsey. Also during college, Rutenberg took classes with British abstract painter Michael Tyzack, who became his faculty advisor and close friend. In 1986 Rutenberg listened for the first time to Glenn Gould's 1981 second recording of J.S. Bach's ''

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also hav ...

'', which launched the artist's deep and lasting interest in the late Canadian pianist's music and philosophy. Rutenberg graduated with honors from College of Charleston in 1987 and moved to New York, where he entered the MFA program at the School of Visual Arts, New York.

Career

.In 1989

Francis Marion University Francis Marion University is a public university near Florence, South Carolina. It is named in honor of American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Marion. History The university dates back to 1957, when the University of South Caro ...

Art Gallery in Florence, South Carolina presented the artist's first solo exhibition. Rutenberg was awarded the Basil H. Alkazzi Award in 1991, which enabled him to study in Rome, Bologna and Venice, Italy for three weeks where he studied the works of Annibale Carracci, Bernini and

Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

. Inspired by 17th- and 18th-century Italian ceiling paintings and the

Villa d'Este The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO World Herita ...

near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Rutenberg began his ''River Paintings'' series. In 1992 Rutenberg was awarded a year-long Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Grant. One year later, the artist had his first New York solo exhibition, ''River Paintings'', at Cavin-Morris Gallery. During the same year the

Greenville County Museum of Art The Greenville County Museum of Art (GCMA) is an art museum located in Greenville, South Carolina. Its collections focus mainly on American art, and its holdings include works by Andrew Wyeth, Josef Albers, Jasper Johns (raised in South Carolina), ...

in Greenville, South Carolina organized Rutenberg's first museum exhibition. In 1994, Rutenberg started to take trips to Toronto and Ottawa, Canada to closely study

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

’s life and career. He traveled to Canada annually for this purpose until 2002. Inspired by Gould and his music, Rutenberg enrolled in music history classes at New York's

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

. In 1997 Rutenberg received a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

which afforded him the opportunity to spend a year in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Rutenberg had his first solo exhibition with Forum Gallery in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 2000. Forum Gallery, New York became Rutenberg's primary representative. In 2018 Rutenberg received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC.

Major exhibitions

*1993 The

in Greenville, South Carolina organized the artist's first museum exhibition. *2001 The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio created the solo exhibition: ''Brian Rutenberg: A Ten-Year Survey.'' *2006 The

South Carolina State Museum The South Carolina State Museum has four floors of permanent and changing exhibits, a digital dome planetarium (opened in 2014), 4D interactive theater and an observatory (both opened in 2014). The State Museum, is located along the banks of the Co ...

in Columbia, South Carolina, organized a major retrospective, ''Brimming Tides: Paintings and Drawings by Brian Rutenberg.'' *2009 The

Gibbes Museum of Art The Gibbes Museum of Art, formerly known as the Gibbes Art Gallery, is an art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the museum moved into a new Beaux Arts building at 135 Meeting Street, in t ...

in Charleston, South Carolina organized ''Brian Rutenberg: Tidesong'', *2009 Radius Books published the artist's monograph ''Brian Rutenberg,'' featuring written contributions from Martica Sawin and artist Gregory Amenoff. *2011 Rutenberg's work was the subject of an exhibition at the Burroughs-Chapin Museum of Art, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Awards

*2018Honorary Doctorate Degree from the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC *2004Fellowship in Painting, New York Foundation for the Arts *2002Spring Island Trust Award *2000Peter S. Reed Foundation Award : Sea Island Trust Visiting Artist *1997Fulbright Scholarship :Artists Work Programme Studio Grant, Irish Museum of Modern Art *1993Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation] *1991The Basil H. Alkazzi Award (USA) :Ragdale Foundation Fellowship *1988MFA Scholarship Award, School of Visual Arts *1987Laura Bragg Memorial Award

Technique

Rutenberg has long placed primary importance on surface and material. His works from 1983 to 1989 included non traditional materials like Cardboard (paper product), cardboard,

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

, masking tape, and were fashioned into shaped three-dimensional paintings and environments. From 1990 to 1995 he experimented with puncturing the picture plane with various sized holes in homage to the paintings of Lucio Fontana. Rutenberg is known for his liberal use of oil paint, sometimes up to three inches thick, and believes that a painting must address the physical presence of the viewer first.

Selected collections

*Art Museum of Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina * Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio *

Cameron Art Museum The Cameron Art Museum, formerly known as St. John's Museum of Art, was established in 1962 in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina in the 1804 Masonic Lodge building. The museum operated successfully in the downtown area for forty years and, eve ...

, Wilmington, North Carolina *

Foundation, South Carolina *

, Charleston, South Carolina *

, Greenville, South Carolina *

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art ("The Johnson Museum") is an art museum located on the northwest corner of the Arts Quad on the main campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its collection includes two windows from Frank Lloyd W ...

, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York *

Hunter Museum of American Art The Hunter Museum of American Art is an art museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The museum's collections include works representing the Hudson River School, 19th century genre painting, American Impressionism, the Ashcan School, early modernism, ...

, Chattanooga, Tennessee *

Morris Museum of Art The Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia was established in 1985 as a non-profit foundation by William S. Morris III, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle, in memory of his parents, as the first museum dedicated to the collection and exhibition ...

, Augusta, Georgia *

Naples Museum of Art The Baker Museum (formerly the Naples Museum of Art) is part of Artis–Naples, a multidisciplinary organization that also is the home of the Naples Philharmonic, located at 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Naples, Florida. The museum, opened in 2000, h ...

, Naples, Florida *

Nassau County Museum of Art The Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) is located east of New York City on the former Frick "Clayton" Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors a ...

, Roslyn Harbor, New York *

Ogden Museum of Southern Art The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is located in the Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1999, and in Stephen Goldring Hall at 925 Camp Street since 2003. The building The Ogden consists of two main buildin ...

, New Orleans, Louisiana *

Peabody Essex Museum The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and th ...

, Salem, Massachusetts *

, Columbia, South Carolina
School of Visual Art and Design
at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina *Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, Ohio *

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

, New Haven, Connecticut

Selected bibliography

*Baker, Kevin
Brian Rutenberg is on a brave quest for freedom in color
(review). ''San Francisco Chronicle'', February 11, 2006. *Bendin, Dariel.
Local Boy Makes Good
. ''Myrtle Beach Alternatives'', February 27, 2009. *Brownfield, Paul. "Gould variations". ''Sun News'' (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina), January 5, 1997. *Day, Jeffrey. "Going with the Flow" (review). ''The State'' (Columbia, South Carolina). January 17, 1993. *De Santis, Solange. "A Glenn Gould Gathering". ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 7, 1999. *Drake, Nicholas. "Rutenberg’s Imagination Soars with Oil and Canvas". ''The Post and Courier'', (South Carolina), March 21, 1996. *Ebony, David. (review). ''Art in America'', May 1994. *Johnson, Ken.

. ''The New York Times'', May 31, 2006. *Lang, Sandy. "MB Artist wins Alkazzi Award". ''The Sun News'', December 21, 1991. *Lucas, Scott. "Lush, Lusty Landscapes". ''Creative Loafing Magazine'', 2003. *Melrod, George. "Abstract Visions". ''Art & Antiques'', November 1996. *Sawin, Martica. ''Brian Rutenberg''. Preface by Gregory Amenoff, Introduction by Walter Darby Bannard. Radius Books. 2009. *Smith, Nick.
For painter Brian Rutenberg, the waiting isn't the hardest part: The Prince of Tides
. ''Charleston City Paper'', November 9, 2009. *Sozanksi, Edward J. "Uncommon Dignity for Common People". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', February 18, 2000.

References

External links

Brian Rutenberg’s website

Forum Gallery, New York

Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina

Toomey Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, California

Tew Galleries, Atlanta, Georgia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutenberg, Brian 1965 births Living people People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina American abstract artists 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters College of Charleston alumni School of Visual Arts alumni Painters from South Carolina 20th-century American male artists