Ruth Lantz
Statement
I use paint processes to investigate how screens have shifted our understanding of space. Using landscape images as a signal for the history of illusionistic space, I merge landscape references with abstract techniques to create works that capture the tension between two virtual spaces—a painted substrate and a screen. Using applications that are both controlled and improvisational, I play with flatness vs. depth and opacity vs. transparency. Condensing the digital impression and the painterly gesture into one surface, I create an image that is at once familiar but also removed, thus challenging the viewer to question technology’s role in our perception of nature and space.
I utilize the landscape images that are presented to us as digital backdrops for our everyday experiences. MAC IOS desktop images, video games such as The Oregon Trail, and built wireframe environments serve as starting points for my paintings and works on paper. Using various combinations of acrylic paint, watercolor, spray applications, colored pencil and silkscreen I rely on methodical processes to construct my surfaces. These applications create luminous depth and imply texture but appear virtually flat mimicking images that have been spatially condensed and visually altered through technological programs.
Areas of Interest: Landscape, Glitch Aesthetics, DataMoshing, Virtual Space, Computer Screen Savers, Hudson River School and the American Sublime
Ruth Lantz, an Illinois-based artist, received her Masters in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in Portland, OR in 2010. Her work has been featured nationally at numerous galleries and institutions, including the Rockford Art Museum (Rockford, IL), Russo Lee Gallery (Portland, OR) Disjecta (Portland, OR), Washington State University Vancouver (Vancouver, WA), Governors State University (University Park, IL), St. Louis Artist’s Guild (St. Louis, MO), Northern Illinois University (Dekalb, IL) and Indianapolis Art Center (Indianapolis, IN). Her work was featured at the Portland International Airport and at the Fringe Festival at Southern Oregon University and she was a presenter in the “Making a Better Painting” Symposium at the Hoffman Gallery at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. Lantz is the founder of Crit Connection, a project providing networking opportunities and resources to emerging and mid-career artists.
CV
Education
2010 MFA in Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) Portland OR
2004 BFA in Studio Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Chicago IL
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Hugh N. Ronald Gallery at The Arts Place, Portland IN, Landscape Provocations
2019
AVA, Astoria OR, Sites Unseen
Portland International Airport, Portland OR, Technotope
2018
Southern Oregon University Thorndyke Gallery, Ashland OR, Transformative Saturation
2017
Portland Community College Sylvania Campus, Northview Gallery, Portland OR, GlitchScape
2016
Governors State University, Black Box Gallery, University Park IL, VistaVision Lower Columbia College Art Gallery, Longview WA, Sightlines
2014
University of Washington Vancouver, Vancouver WA, Slow Burn
2012
Stumptown Downtown, Portland OR, Shifting Meridian
2009
In House Gallery, Portland OR, Vacillations
The Lodge Gallery at Allied Works Architecture, Portland OR, InBetween
Pacific Northwest College of Art, MFA Central, Portland OR, Infinite Spaces
2007 Emission Studios, Chicago IL, Nebulosity
Selected Exhibitions
2024
Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL Midwest Juried Show
Arc Gallery, Chicago IL, Doomscapes
Northern Illinois University, Dekalb IL, Screenic Paradigms 2.0 : artist and curator
2023
Evanston Arts Center, Evanston + Vicinity Biennial. Evanston IL
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Bloc Gallery, Champaign IL
2022
Rockford Art Museum, Rockford IL, The Midwest Biennal: curated by Frank Juarez
Neon Heater, Findley OH, Screenic Paradigms
Piano Craft Gallery, Boston MA, Finding a Memory: curated Erika B. Hess
St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis MO, Visions of the America Landscape: Juried by Emmy Lingscheit
Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis IN, Artists of the Midwest: Juried by Jean Robertson
2021
Dodomu Gallery, New York NY, New Contemporaries
2020
Lewis and Clark College Hoffman Gallery, Portland OR, Making a Better Painting
Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica CA, Left Coast Annual: Juried by Carin Adams
2019
GIFC Worldwide Show Series, various venues
2016
Governors State University Visual Arts Gallery, University Park IL, Abstraction: Ways of Making
2015
Portland Community College Paragon Gallery, Portland OR, PCC Faculty and Staff Exhibition
2014
Linfield College, McMinnville OR, Landscape: A Survey of Regional Contemporary Painting
Nisus Gallery, Portland OR, Flatlands
2013
Heathman Hotel, Portland OR, Profound Impact PNCA Staff and Alumnus
Russo Lee Gallery, Portland OR, New Views
2012
Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver WA, Faculty and Staff Exhibition
Swarm Gallery, Oakland CA, True Places
2011
Pacific Northwest College of Art Gallery 214, Portland OR, Variations
Worksound, Portland OR, Identity Paintings
Ditch Projects, Springfield OR, ON&ON&ON
2010
Pacific Northwest College of Art Swigert Commons, Portland OR, Morph/Shif
PNCA MFA Thesis Exhibition, Goldsmith Building, Portland OR
WorkSound, Portland OR, Transverse
2009
Disjecta, Portland OR, Egocentric
2008
The Lodge Gallery at Allied Works Architecture, Portland OR, Ritual of Initiation
2006
Emission Studios, Chicago IL, See Under Me
Other Projects
2020 Founder: Crit Connection, A project providing networking opportunities to artists
through monthly one-on-one connections for conversation and critique. 2020-present
Teaching Experience
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Urbana IL, Visiting Artist – 2023
Portland Community College, Cascade Campus, Portland OR – 2012-present
Heartland Community College, Normal IL – 2021
Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver WA – 2012-2020
More Info and Links
Podcast: New Visionary Podcast – Building Community Through Conversation and Critique with Ruth Lantz
Writing: Down in the Uncanny Valley: The Landscapes of Ruth Lantz by Jeff Ostergren
Lecture: The Machine in the Mountain – Ruth Lantz at UIUC
Interview: I Like Your Work: Ruth Lantz
