Ruth Philo

About The Artist

Ruth Philo had work included in the Contemporary Masters from the East of England exhibition held at The Cut in 2017. Work for the exhibition was drawn from the Priseman-Seabrook Collection of 21st Century British Painting.

Contemporary Masters from the East of England

The Contemporary Masters from the East of England Exhibition catalogue (downloadable .pdf)

Work by Ruth Philo was also in a 2013 group show at The Cut, IMPERFECT PRESENT FUTURE PERFECT.

I am interested in exploring abstract qualities in painting, particularly concerned with surface, mark and colour, and their power to evoke feeling and memory. The paintings become a record, with their own condensed histories.

Trained originally as an Art Historian and initial work as an archaeologist have led to an inescapable fascination with looking. Work often begins from noticing mundane or overlooked elements in the everyday, connected with place, time and our relationship with our immediate surroundings. I work in oils or acrylics, sometimes in series on an intimate scale.

The paintings shown here, although abstract, come from a visit to the Orfordness Lighthouse in summer 2012. Inside the lighthouse at certain times of day and in certain lights it becomes filled with refracted colour and the curved walls take on an otherworldly quality.

Exhibitions Featuring Ruth Philo