Ruth Rix
Encyclopedia
Ruth Rix is an artist based in Brighton
, England who works across the visual arts
, with a particular interest in painting
. Her work is in private collections.
to parents who were Jewish refugees, Rix has lived, worked and trained in London, Leeds
, York
and Vienna
(she spent two years at the studio of Fritz Wotruba
); she has studied at Leeds College of Art and Central St. Martin's School of Art.
The niece of Austrian writer Ilse Aichinger
, Rix grew up in the company of artists and intellectuals such as Anna Mahler
and Elias Canetti
.
, Andrei Tarkovsky
, Antoni Tàpies
. Some of her themes have included staircases, landings, shifting rooms and spaces. Figures are sometimes present, although often absent, leaving only resonances.
, Tracey Emin
, Frida Kahlo
,
Diane Arbus
and Barbara Hepworth
alongside comparatively unknown ‘art-breaker’ Rix.
Latest Art commented that Rix was not famous as she was "too busy exploring and painting to seek the limelight" and hence her work was not in major museums and art galleries such as Britain's Tate Gallery
. She however has heavyweight and discerning patrons of long standing.
On August 6, 2007 Rix was the feature of a live interview at the Portobello Film Festival
. She was in conversation with live artist Ernst Fischer in the "Magic Which Takes Time" section of a two-day series of events in the main festival called 'The World's Greatest Magicians'. The programme stated: "Cognoscenti's painter Ruth Rix ... makes a rare public appearance in introducing us to two of her works".
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England who works across the visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, with a particular interest in painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Her work is in private collections.
Early life
Born in Leamington SpaLeamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
to parents who were Jewish refugees, Rix has lived, worked and trained in London, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(she spent two years at the studio of Fritz Wotruba
Fritz Wotruba
Fritz Wotruba was an Austrian sculptor of Czecho-Hungarian descent. He was considered one of the most notable Austrian 20th century sculptors...
); she has studied at Leeds College of Art and Central St. Martin's School of Art.
The niece of Austrian writer Ilse Aichinger
Ilse Aichinger
Ilse Aichinger is an Austrian writer noted for her accounts of her persecution by the Nazis because of her Jewish ancestry.- Life :...
, Rix grew up in the company of artists and intellectuals such as Anna Mahler
Anna Mahler
Anna Justine Mahler was an Austrian sculptor.-Early Life:Born in Vienna, she was the daughter of the composer Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma Schindler. They nicknamed her 'Gucki' on account of her big blue eyes...
and Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti was a Bulgarian-born modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and non-fiction writer. He wrote in German and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981, "for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power".-Life:...
.
Art work
Some of Rix's work is oil on canvas, others comprise mixed media on paper. Her influences include Bill ViolaBill Viola
Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
, Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
, Antoni Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tàpies is a Catalan painter. He is one of the most famous European artists of his generation. After studying law for 3 years, he devoted himself from 1943 onwards only to his painting...
. Some of her themes have included staircases, landings, shifting rooms and spaces. Figures are sometimes present, although often absent, leaving only resonances.
Notices
In August 2006 Rix was featured in British art magazine "Latest Art" in its Autumn Issue (No. 2), a special on women's art worldwide and through the ages. Rix is profiled in the double page centre spread section Phenomenal Women: 30 of the most exciting and groundbreaking female artists in the world. Other featured artists include prominent names such as Mary CassattMary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
, Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
, Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
,
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
and Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
alongside comparatively unknown ‘art-breaker’ Rix.
Latest Art commented that Rix was not famous as she was "too busy exploring and painting to seek the limelight" and hence her work was not in major museums and art galleries such as Britain's Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. She however has heavyweight and discerning patrons of long standing.
On August 6, 2007 Rix was the feature of a live interview at the Portobello Film Festival
Portobello Film Festival
The Portobello Film Festival is an independent international film festival based in London, which annually premiers over 700 new films, including features, shorts, documentaries, music films and animation. Additionally, workshops and talks with top film directors are also featured. Admission to...
. She was in conversation with live artist Ernst Fischer in the "Magic Which Takes Time" section of a two-day series of events in the main festival called 'The World's Greatest Magicians'. The programme stated: "Cognoscenti's painter Ruth Rix ... makes a rare public appearance in introducing us to two of her works".