Ruth Wolf
PREDESTINATION*
A Painted Graphic Novel
You can ask what does it mean.
But there is no one story. I can only offer a map, a guide for reading this piece.
The sequence is thus: canvases are presented to be read dawn to night (right to left).
Another day starts, the glow of dawn peers through to welcome the morning.
As you meander through the day into dusk, the evening falls. It is lit by moonlight, and then there is the night.
A day in the life, much like Joyce’s Ulysses, full of intrusions and interruptions.
As to the development of the form - I am thinking about art and language. About reading a painting as if it were a piece of literature, where a sequence of scenes is read in series rather than as a single image seen all at once. In using a grid format, I ask the painting to visually address organization and randomness.
As to the development of composition - color, light and texture morph and distort. Shape folds upon space to build the picture plane and allude to content. Using BLUE - cyan cobalt cerulean ultramarine - the color of the sky and the sea, ephemeral like memory, it can not be held only felt. As day transitions into night, l'heure bleue, light waves scatter and the color becomes a pulsating aura.
As to the development of narrative - How do stories take shape. First there is the blank canvas, then there is a spontaneous flash of information. After 5 seconds this thought is either captured on the canvas or it is tossed out. What is focused on, what is discarded, reshaped, manipulated, disguised.
He said I want your body and she said you can have it when I’m done with it.**
I heard they injected reflective aerosols into the atmosphere last night.
Narrative references like these, as well as titles and page headings create assumptions. They may move the narrative along yet whatever the plot is it is in the mind of the viewer. Does the viewer derive pleasure in this silent dialogue.
Asking questions, collaborating on content and sharing stories excites conversation.
And the goal is to connect.
*Predestination is defined as the doctrine foreordaining all that will happen especially with regard to the salvation of some and not of others.
** Germaine Greer
Ruth Wolf Bio
Ruth Wolf video by John Thornton
Tour & Talk with Ruth Wolf, 2023
Ruth Wolf's solo exhibition is on view April 9 - May 4, 2025
Tour & Talk with Ruth Wolf, 2025
Ashley, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Eveyln, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Wava, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Evelyn at Night, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Vespid, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Inga, ink & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Kathy Kisses, ink & mixed media on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Wava at Night, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Life on Mars, acrylic on canvas, 66" x 73" Available
Predestination, acrylic on canvas (5 canvases) Available
Predestination, Dawn (there is a crack where the light goes in), acrylic on canvas, 24" x 26" Available
Predestination, Day, (she is worried she won't be blooming in time), acrylic on canvas, 22" x 38" Available
Predestination, Sundowner (the hissing of summer lawns), acrylic on canvas, 22" x 38" Available
Predestination, Moondance (they told us to stop thinking), acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36" Available
Predestination, Gates (facing a futre of repression), acrylic on canvas, 25" x 37" Available
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Ruth Wolf's most recent solo exhibition was held December 6, 2023 - January 14, 2024. A selection of her work is currently available at the gallery as indicated. For inquiries on all other works shown, please Contact Us.
What Does the Painting See, acrylic on canvas with charcoal and ashes, 48" x 72"
Lost at See, acrylic on canvas with ink, 50" x 72"
I Wish I Were a River, acrylic on canvas with graphite, 50" x 72"
Still Life, acrylic on canvas primed with mica flake, 56" x 64"
Locked In, acrylic on canvas with chalk and white out, 24" x 34" SOLD
Amanda, acrylic on canvas with drier lint, net and pearls, 12" x 12" Available
Silvia, charcoal and spray paint on canvas with silver necklace, 12" x 12" Available
Betty, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12" Available
Gary, acrylic on canvas with graphite and white out, 12" x 12" Available
Dora, acrylic on canvas with white out, 12" x 12" Available
Fred, acrylic on canvas with burnt paper and white out, 12" x 12" SOLD
Alice, acrylic, spray paint, mesh and charcoal on canvas , 12" x 12" Available
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For inquiries on work from Ruth Wolf's previous exhibitions shown below, please Contact Us.
A Walk in Czechoskovakia, acrylic, litho crayon, graphite, 49" x 72"
Don't Go Home, acrylic, litho crayon, graphite,white-out, 49" x 41"
Sisters Walking, acrylic, litho crayon, chalk, 32" x 49"
Masks and Memories, acrylic and litho crayon, 32" x 32"
Masks and Mirrors, acrylic and litho crayon, 32" x 32"
The Day Before the Mourning, acrylic, gauze, ashes, mica flake, 49" x 72"
Daphne, acrylic, white-out, pastel, 12" x 12"
Luna, silk, acrylic, pencil, earring, 12" x 12"
Cherry, mesh, acrylic, tape, litho crayon, 12" x 12"
Eric Avon, acrylic on silk, 12" x 12"
Freida, acrylic on silk with rust and tape, 12" x 12"
Phoebe, silk, paper, taupe, acrylic, 12" x 12"
Invisible People - Dorothy, spray paint, silk cloth, chalk, graphite, 12" x 12" SOLD
Invisible People - Anna, acrylic, pen, pencil, charcoal, 12" x 12"
Invisible People - Tomatoes, spray paint, mesh plastic bag, graphite, 12" x 12" SOLD
Outside Looking In, acrylic, charcoal on recycled painting, 50.5" x 56.5"
Mona, ink block print with decals, 22" x 30"
The Dead Run at Night, acrylic and cloth on canvas with glow-in-the-dark, 58" x 50"
Leaf Shadows, acrylic, screen with plastic bugs on canvas, 35.5" x 39"
Whisperers, acrylic and cloth on canvas with glow-in-the-dark, 34" x 48"
No One Screamed, acrylic on canvas, 25" x 43"
Into the Sea of Place and Time, acrylic on canvas, 28" x 84"
Dawn, acrylic and litho crayon on canvas, 10" x 10"
Noon, acrylic and litho crayon on canvas, 10" x 10"
Dusk, acrylic and litho crayon on canvas, 10" x 10"
Night, acrylic and litho crayon on canvas, 10" x 10"
Veiled Head, graphite and charcoal, 29" x 29"
Angry Head, graphite and charcoal, 27" x 33"
Invisible People - Gloria, mixed-media on canvas, 12" x 12"
Invisible People - Greta, mixed-media on canvas, 12" x 12"
Tashfeen, silk, spray paint, sharpie on canvas, 12" x 12"
Seeing, acrylic, screen on canvas, 12" x 12" SOLD
Pond, acrylic, spray paint, carbon paper on canvas, 12" x 12" SOLD