Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too
April 6th - May 13th, 2023-
Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too, Installation View. Photography by Clare Gatto
Nina Johnson is pleased to present Maybe the sun is tired too, a solo exhibition of new works by Danish-American sculptor Anders Ruhwald. Opening April 6th across two spaces in the gallery (the Main Gallery and Exhibition Library), the show explores themes of gravity, climate change, growth, and decay.
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Anders Ruhwald, Rain Mound (Summer to Fall), 2023, Glazed ceramic, 74.5 x 38 x 21 in.
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Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too, Installation View. Photography by Clare Gatto
Maybe the sun is tired too paraphrases a line from “Inheritance,” a poem by Scottish poet and performer Ellen Reton. In the poem, readers encounter a series of phenomena such as wind, water, and air—all of which amalgamate into cyclical patterns. The elemental nature of the poem mirrors the individual works in the exhibition carrying particular aspects and feelings that create a consistent experience throughout the galleries. The works invite viewers to a space where form and material coalesce into a manifestation of materiality and fundamental occurrences are brought to the forefront.
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Anders Ruhwald, Two as One (Stay together), 2023, Glazed ceramic, dyed cotton string, 53 x 21 x 16 in.
“I see the work as an eco-emotional and material response which tries to give a form to our changing relationship with the natural forces driving our climate,” said Anders Ruhwald. “I don’t offer any solutions and this exhibition will do nothing to aid the situation. To me, it is an attempt to make space for contemplation of these concerns.”
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Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too, Installation View. Photography by Clare Gatto
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Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too, Installation View. Photography by Clare Gatto
The exhibition features 13 new sculptures—seven in the Main Gallery and six in the Exhibition Library—all realized by Ruhwald within the last year and encompassing seven years of research on various glazing techniques. Ranging in height from about 11 inches to 6 feet, the sculptures are glazed with a runny blue treatment and then subjected to a multi-fire process to achieve an intense and textured surface. The result is an oozy, semi-mat cobalt blue colloidal substance that trickles down the sculptures, revealing a white crust hidden underneath.
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Anders Ruhwald, Tree (Atlas' Hand), 2023, Glazed ceramic, 68.5 x 28 x 22 in.
A focal point in the exhibition, The Way of Water is a work which appears on two of the gallery’s walls. Produced with a diluted blue paint, the liquid drizzles along the top of the walls and towards the floor. The paint is allowed to find its own direction and occasionally merges with other drops, generating an irregular pattern. Framing the sculptures, The Way of Water drenches the gallery walls and evokes a feeling of predestined aftermath.
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Anders Ruhwald, Rain Tree, 2023, Detail View
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Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too, Installation View. Photography by Clare Gatto
“Only Anders can turn our collective anxieties into such an exquisite sculptural practice. I consider myself a long time fan of his work and feel fortunate to be showing this impressive body of work which is the culmination of so many years of dedicated study, research, and making,” said Nina Johnson.
Maybe the sun is tired too is on view through May 13, 2023.
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Anders Ruhwald, Flux Field 2 (Aluminium, Barium, Boron, Calcium, Cobalt, Kalium, Lithium, Magnesium, Silica, Zirconium), 2023, Glazed ceramic, 30.5 x 40 x 2.25 in.
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Anders Ruhwald: Maybe the sun is tired too, Installation View. Photography by Clare Gatto
Anders Herwald Ruhwald (born 1974 in Denmark) is a sculptor and installation artist whose practice is grounded in ceramics. He lives and works between Detroit and Chicago and received his MFA from the Royal College of Art in London in 2005. Solo exhibitions include Century Garden, Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA (2020); The Anatomy of a Home at Saarinen House in Michigan (2012), You in Between at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art in the UK (2008) and more than 30 gallery and museum solo-shows as well as over 100 group-exhibitions around the world. His work is represented in over 25 public collections internationally including The Victoria and Albert Museum (UK), Musée des Arts décoratifs (France), The Art Institute of Chicago, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Denver Art Museum, The National Museum (Sweden) and The Museum of Art and Design (Denmark). His work has been featured in publications like Vitamin C published by Phaidon as well as the New York Times Magazine, Guardian (UK), Forbes Magazine, The Architects Newspaper, Frieze, Hyperallergic and Avenuel (Rep. of S. Korea). Ruhwald has lectured and taught at universities around Europe and North America and has held an associate professorship at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. From 2008-2017 he was the Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, USA.