Ruth Owens
Ruth Owens, Be Kind to Yourself, 2019, oil on canvas, 60" x 40"
Ruth Owens, Lessons Lost, 2020, acrylic, charcoal, mylar, and glitter on paper, 96" x 96"
Ruth Owens, Vietnam Opa, study, 2020, acrylic on paper, 8.25" x 8"
Ruth Owens, Boy Guide, oil on canvas, 40x60", 2017
Ruth Owens, How, oil on canvas, 18x18", 2017
Ruth Owens was born in 1959 to a young German woman and a Black serviceman from Georgia. The nomadic military lifestyle of her childhood was complicated by restrictions to mixed families in many communities and laid the basis for the formation of her cultural identity and therefore, her artistic practice. Ruth Owens graduated in 2018 with an MFA from the University of New Orleans after leaving her medical practice of 25 years. She is represented by Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, and belongs to the artist collective, “The Front,” in New Orleans. Artist residencies include the Joan Mitchell Center residency in the fall of 2020, the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, MA in 2019, the Vermont Studio Center in 2018, and the Studios at MASS MoCA in 2021. She has also been accepted into the International Studio and Curatorial Program residency in NY. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Ackland Art Museum at the UNC-Chapel Hill, the Addison Gallery of American Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society. Notable solo shows include “Be Kind to Yourself,” 2021, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery; “Good Family,” 2019, The Front Gallery; “Identity Theft,” 2018, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery; “Baby Love,” 2018, University of New Orleans Gallery; “Conspiracies,” 2017, Barrister’s Gallery, New Orleans; and “Steppin’ Out,” 2016, Xavier University Chapel Gallery, New Orleans. Ruth has participated in group exhibitions at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Addison Gallery of American Art, and the New Orleans Film Festival, 2019.