site-specific | permanent artwork
Lantern (3)
2024
Sand casting of aluminum, glass, 70 x 120 cm
Sterling Ruby works with a wide range of media, including ceramics, painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, video, and textiles. His works, in contrast to the minimalist artistic tradition and influenced by the ubiquity of urban graffiti, often appear scratched, defaced, camouflaged, dirty, or splattered.
LANTERN by Sterling Ruby was expressly conceived by the artist for the entrance of Palazzo Diedo. It is an edition of hanging lamps that pays homage to those that have illuminated the narrow streets and alleys of Venice since the 12th century. The metal frameworks were forged using a life-sized maquette constructed with waste materials from his studio and scrap wood,
while the panels were made with streaked red glass, in tribute to another ancient Venetian tradition. While the original model was hastily put together, the molds are the result of a meticulous process blending traditional and contemporary production methods.
Courtesy of the artist and Sterling Ruby Studio
Photos by Matteo Catania - Hubove Studio
temporary artwork - 2024 JANUS exhibition
Window of Declinism 1
Window of Declinism 2
2024
Fabric, yarn, fishing nets, buoys, hardware, 622,3 x 439,4 x 17,8 cm, 617,2 x 388,6 x 21,6 cm
The compositions of the tapestries WINDOW of Declinism 1 and WINDOW of Declinism 2 continue the artist’s exploration of existential questions in relation to the painterly gesture and conventional ways of seeing, akin to peering through a metaphorical window.
Assembled over years of fabric collecting and research into the history of once widespread crafts, the works feature Venetian fishing nets, “necklaces” of buoys from a Burano family, and discarded electronic components, creating an intricate sky-to-ground crinoline with a vaguely romantic and nostalgic flavor.
Courtesy of the artist and Sterling Ruby Studio
Photos by Matteo Catania - Hubove Studio