Brieana Ruais

CONTACT:iiiiiiiiiiiii info@brieanaruais.com
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STATEMENT
oooooThe concepts of merging and separating, and of growth and decay are at the root of my formal and conceptual investigations. I look to historical as well as present-day cultures that merge with nature, such as indigenous tribes of the Americas; communities that attempt to return to nature in the form of communes and homesteads; and civilizations that move with nature, such as gypsies and nomadic peoples. My work often combines embroidered fabric, carved wood, and engraved objects with found materials such as branches, dried flowers, soil, plants, antlers, jars, and other objects.
oooooThrough the investigation of our spiritual, physical, and scientific relationship with nature, sacred spaces emerge. Sprawling landscapes, mantles, sculptures, and embroideries offer familiar objects with intricacies that speak of ritual, preciousness, and the ephemeral. Viewers are moved by a sense of wonderment and discovery, reminding them perhaps of their past and/or present connection with nature. In “Myth in Three Parts”, nature’s unrestrained violence is mourned and ritualized, exhibiting its duality of violence and beauty. By fusing representations of nature with the delicacy of the human touch (embroidery, carved wood, altered objects), the humanity, urgency, and emotional need to be part of nature emerges.
ooooWithin my exploration of the natural world, I am investigating the feminine experience, specifically the loss and reclamation of identity. The history of embroidery as a form of storytelling (both mythic and mundane) and its reputation as women's craft, lends itself to the expression of the feminine experience. Embroidery work reveals the hand's patient stitch, the secrets behind closed doors, and the gesture and process of an unseen individual.

BIOGRAPHY
Brieana Ruais was born in Southern California, and earned her BFA from New York University in 2004. She has a studio practice in Brooklyn, and works as an assistant to Sarah Sze and Tom Sachs. Ruais fuses embroidery with sculpture, creating both small and large installations composed of an array of materials from fabric and thread to branches, dried flowers, and wood. She has shown in an around New York independently and with her collective, Saviour Scraps, who works primarily with recycled fabrics.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002	(Forthcoming) Dangerous Women, Adelphi University, New York, September Bodyjar, Untrained, Santa Fe, New Mexico Forever Home, Little Cakes Gallery, New York Forever Home, HPGRP, Tokyo Generations5, AIR Gallery, New York Cabin Comforts, Secret Project Robot, Brooklyn Delicate Kinship, HPGRP, Tokyo The True Mirror, City Without Walls, Newark, NJ Surfeit: An Exercise in Moderate Excess, ZONE:Chelsea, New York Haak: Getting to Know Your Stranger, AG Gallery, Brooklyn White Box Local 525, The Annex, New York Guild the Lily Inaugural Exhibition, 137 Gallery, New York The Eclectic Painting Show, Amos Eno Gallery, New York BA Thesis Exhibition, Rosenberg Gallery, New York University, New York The Space Between, The Kimmel Center, New York University Postneointegrity: Burnt to a Crisp, Asterix Gallery, Brooklyn Neointegrity: This Land is Your Land, Kosher Pickle Warehouse, Brooklyn
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS Saviour Scraps Founded 2005, based in New York.( www.SaviourScraps.org)
2008 2007 2006 2005	Emergence, Governors Island, New York, May – July 2008 The Porch Show, Cinders, Brooklyn Nest, Monkey Town, Brooklyn Womanizer Salon: Video Screening, Deitch Projects, New York Cabin Comforts, Secret Project Robot, Brooklyn Dissemination. A collaboration with HAAK, Fringe Festival, Philadelphia Flex Your Textiles, John Connelly Presents, New York Dissemination. A collaboration with HAAK, Gilded Pony Festival, Troy, NY Rhythm of the Head: Braid, Braid, Secret Project Robot, Brooklyn Casa de Scary, Secret Project Robot, Brooklyn The Peekskill Artists Project, Peekskill, NY The Muster, Governor’s Island, NY, Organized by Allison Smith & The Public Art Fund
HAAK Founded 2004, based in Brooklyn (Project Images)
2007 2006 2005 2004	Wickwatering, LAVAzone, Philadelphia, PA Dissemination, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, PA Dissemination, a collaboration with Haak, Gilded Pony Festival, Troy, NY Haaktown, The Peekskill Artists Project, Peekskill, NY Haaktory, Rubalad, Brooklyn, NY Huron Pier Artist-Made Boat Launch, Brooklyn Haak: Getting to Know Your Stranger, AG Gallery, Brooklyn
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2008 2005 2000	Vermont Studio Center, Sculpture Fellowship The Philadelphia Fabric Workshop and Museum, Apprenticeship NYU Steinhardt Arts Scholarship

BIBLIOGRAPHY
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004	Someone’s Garden, Interview and spread with Saviour Scraps, June -Ship. Designed and edited by Lauren Mackler. Essay and artwork by B.Ruais, p.271 Brazilian Elle. Feature on Saviour Scraps HP France Magazine. Feature on Saviour Scraps, December Nylon. Eviana Hartman, “Scrap Happy,” April 2007, p.80 Allison Smith: The Muster. Public Art Fund, New York, NY, 2007, p. 8, 30, 74-75, 84 Philadelphia Weekly. “Art at LAVA”, by Doug Wallen, November 1, 2006 Apista. Dissemination and Shelter featured in “I love NY” issue’s Arts section, p.65 OOOOCabin Comforts featured in the Brooklyn section, p.23. Also placed on the “This is New York Guide Map” insert, p,5. Issue 008, December, 2006 Modern Weekly. John Storey, feature on Cabin Comforts NY Arts Magazine. Danielle Jackson, "Cabin Comforts," Vol. 11, no 9/10, September 2006, p.28 The Brooklyn Rail. William Powhida, “Saviour Scraps: Cabin Comforts," July/August, 2006, p.30 Knit Knit. Luren Jenison, “The Muster,” feature on Saviour Scraps, Issue 6, Dec., 2005, p.25 Repellent. Review Rhythm of the Head. September 7, 2005 Artnet. “Artnet News,” August 23, 2005 Little Treats. Hanna Fushihara, feature on Saviour Scraps, Fall 2005. Artforum.com: Diary. Domenick Ammirati, “Role Call,“ May 18, 2005 New York Times. Randall Kennedy “Desert Island Fantasy: Lazy Day in the Park with a Tent and a Cause,” May 16, 2005, p.E1 New York Times, New Jersey Arts Section March 29, 2005, review of The True Mirror Grand Street News, “Cool Art in Unexpected Places” Review of Guild the Lily, by Carol Markel, Aug 2004 Flavorpill. “Guild the Lily“, Issue 214, July 13, 2004 NonstarvingArtists.com. “Guild the Lily”, July15, 2004 Village Voice. “Pick of the Week”, Guild the Lily Inaugural Exhibition, July 2004

LINKS

Lauren Mackler - graphic designer and artist

Nathlie Provosty - painter

Katie Kline - photographer and quilter

Shabd Simon-Alexander - embroidery and sculpture

Jojo Li - drawing

Paul Sepuya - photographer

David Gilbert - photography and sculpture

Nick Calcott - photographer

Cody Trepte - mixed media

If The Birds Knew - art, fashion, craft, music blog by AmyLou Stein

My Love For You is a Stampede of Horses - art blog by Meighan O'toole

Guild the Lily - cooperative project showing artists online monthly

Learning To Love You More - a great project

Jan Family - a curious perspective on life