Flash (Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
Flash (Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
32 × 32 inches


War Paint (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
War Paint (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
48 × 48 inches


Conquer Surrender 1–3 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
Conquer Surrender 1–3 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
80 × 40 inches each


Conquer Surrender 1 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
Conquer Surrender 1 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
80 × 40 inches


Conquer Surrender 2 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
Conquer Surrender 2 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
80 × 40 inches


Conquer Surrender 3 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
Conquer Surrender 3 (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2010
80 × 40 inches


Abandon 1 (Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
Abandon 1 (Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
32 × 60 inches


Charmed (Red Green) Present Fugitive Series, 2010
Charmed (Red Green) Present Fugitive Series, 2010
60 × 32 inches


Savage (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
Savage (Red Blue), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
24 × 24 inches


Fetish (Red), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
Fetish (Red), Double Primary Red Blue Series, 2011
32 × 32 inches


 Ruth Pastine: Immaterial Matters

Brian Gross Fine Art is pleased to announce the fourth solo exhibition of paintings by Ruth Pastine, opening on Thursday, September 8th with a reception for the artist from 5:30-7:30pm. Nine paintings will be on display from her Double Primary Red Blue Series, which examine the relationships between light, structure, and perception through the subtle gradations of primary and complementary color systems.

With the introduction of deeply beveled canvases that liberate the painted surface from traditional stretchers, Pastine’s current iteration of painting brings the work into the realm of light and space. The tonal modulations are now enhanced by an ethereal quality, and create a dialogue between object, presence, and phenomena. The artist describes her process of painting as “driven by working serially and invested in the perceptual experience of color, light, and temperature. The work is focused on the systematic process of painting, and draws from my interest in transforming the materiality of the painted surface into an optically immaterial experience.”

Within the layers of Immaterial Matters exists a dichotomy between structure and unpredictability, which informs the tension and the content of Pastine’s work. The duality between passion and control is represented in the seamless hand-painted surfaces of delicately shifting fields of opposing values and hues, an interplay between brilliantly saturated and more nuanced color.

Born in New York City, Ruth Pastine received her B.F.A. from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, and her M.F.A. from Hunter College of the City University of New York. She has exhibited widely in the United States and Japan, and is included in many public and corporate collections, including AXA Art, Cologne, Germany; Brookfield Properties, Ernst & Young Plaza, Los Angeles, CA; Goodwill Industries International, San Francisco, CA; Lakeshore Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA; Lehman Brothers/Townsend Analytics, New York, NY; Qualcomm, San Diego, CA; Shifting Foundation, San Francisco, CA; and UNICEF, New York, NY. She currently lives and works in Ojai, California.