Works by Anne Russinof
Anne Russinof is an American abstract painter whose work examines color and structure in a gestural, expressionist manner.
She has been a member of American Abstract Artists since 2014.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, she currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Education
Russinof earned her BFA in Printmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1979. She earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1982. She has completed residencies at Yaddo and the Millay Colony for the Arts, both in upstate New York.
Technique
For Russinof, everything begins with color. As she says,"Color serves to create a window onto natural space and light." She begins a painting by applying color in lyrical, gestural marks. The marks coalesce into a structure, a loose grid. She adds layers; color relationships evolve; depth emerges; a sense of form is suggested. If the composition does not resolve itself effectively, she scrapes it all off and begins again from a place of deconstruction. Her compositions feel intuitive, almost casual, but the process is quite intentional. Russinof came to painting from a background in printmaking. She arrived at oil on canvas after working her way through various mediums, surfaces, and processes. Her practice currently fluctuates between works on paper and works on canvas and small-scale and large-scale work. The smaller paintings allow her to work through ideas quickly. The works on paper allow her the chance to experiment with new mediums and techniques.
Inspiration
Russinof is inspired by things she sees: a visceral reaction to manifest a feeling physically through paint. That initial visual stimulus is often related to color. The purpose of the work is not to imitate something she saw or even to capture a sense of it. Rather, she is inspired by the search; the mystery of what will happen; the suspense of waiting to see how the wet layers of paint are going to interact. She often works on several canvases at once, letting an environment of anxious play guide her from image to image, hoping to coax something elusive into being. She is motivated by the challenge of adding only what needs to be added in order to attract the eye, and stopping before the image becomes chaotic.
Artist Statement
Russinof wrote the following for a 2016 catalog:
"My current imagery evolved from a decision to pour and drag oil paint across a canvas laid on the floor. The imagery evoked lattices or loose grids, and then slightly later, as both the canvases and brushes became larger, a more centralized pattern appeared. Structure manifested in a new way: in order to balance the spontaneity of the marks and looseness of the paint, a frame emerged with a kind of figure, the gesture itself, at the center."
Exhibitions
Russinof has exhibited throughout the United States, most extensively in New York City and the surrounding area.
Solo Exhibitions
2014
Anne Russinof, Blank Space, NY, NY
2013
Seeing Through, Three-person, 490 Atlantic Gallery, Brooklyn NY
and Seeing Through: Recent Works on Paper, Three-person, Soapbox Gallery, Brooklyn NY.
Temporal Shifts, 3-person show, Suffolk Community College
Recent Paintings by Anne Russinof, AbArtonline
2011
Anne Russinof Paintings, Two-person, Blank Space, NY, NY
2009
Anne Russinof Paintings and Works on paper, Three-person, 215 College Gallery, Burlington, VT.
2007
Recent Paintings and Works on Paper: Solo Show, The Painting Center, NY, NY
2006
Anne Russinof Paintings, Two-person, The Painting Center, NY, NY
2004
Shapes, Two-person, The Phoenix Gallery, Burlington, VT
1989
Anne Russinof at One Main Street, Dept. of Labor, Dumbo. Brooklyn, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018
Blurring Boundaries: The Women of AAA, Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, KY, October–November, and Ewing Gallery, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, November–December
2017
True Believers, David&Schweitzer, Brooklyn, NY
The Flatfile Show, David&Schweitzer, Brooklyn, NY
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
The Big Small Show, Drawing Rooms, Jersey City, NJ
Thru the Rabbit Hole 2, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2016
Chromatic Space, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, NY, NY
Seeking Space: Making the Future, ExoMars, Brooklyn, NY
Fiction (With Only Daylight Between Us), Corridor Projects, Dayton, Ohio
The Onward of Art, 1285 Avenue of the Americas Gallery, NY, NY
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
Visible Histories, Abrons Art Center, NY, NY
Thru the Rabbit Hole, Sideshow, Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
2015
Endless, Entire, FiveMyles Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Going Big, Central Booking, NY, NY Gone Fishin,’ 315 Berry St., Brooklyn, NY De Colores, The Buggy Factory.
Thrice Legendary, Centotto, Brooklyn, NY
Family Ties, 500X Gallery, Dallas, Texas
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
New Work City, MomentaArt, Bushwick Brooklyn, NY
Circle the Wagons, Sideshow, Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
Back In Situ, or Turns, Centotto, Bushwick Brooklyn, NY
Paperazzi IV, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
2014
TSA Flat Files, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Gallery, Bushwick Brooklyn, NY
Second Family, 2 Rivington St, NY, NY
Family Style, Formerly Pocket Utopia, NY, NY
Summer Invitational, Life On Mars Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
To Leo (Rabkin), A Tribute from American Abstract Artists, Sideshow Gallerty, Brooklyn, NY
Paper and Canvas, ILLE Arts, Amagansett, NY
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
2013
Summer Exhibition, Blank Space Gallery, NY, NY Phaedo, at Storefront Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY Concentric, at The Table, Brooklyn, NY
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Summer Exhibition, Blank Space Gallery, NY, NY
Women's History Month Invitational, Van Deb Editions, NY, NY
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
Mic: Check (Occupy), Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Paperazzi, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Private Events, Blank Space Gallery, NY, NY
Grey Matter, The Painting Center
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
Paper 2011, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
It’s All Good: Apocalypse Now, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
Small Works Invitational, The Painting Center, NY, NY
New Walls Fresh Paint, The Painting Center, NY, NY
2009
100 Works on Paper, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
2007
Geometrics, Gallery 128, 128 Rivington St., NY, NY
2006
The Persistence of Paint, The Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich Arts Center, CT
Conversations in Paint, Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College, PA
2005
Conversations in Paint, The Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University, CT
2004
NYU Small Works Show, 80 Washington Square East, NY, NY
2003
The Big Abstract Show, The Painting Center, NY, NY
NYU Small Works Show, 80 Washington Square East, NY, NY
2001
The Summer Show, The Painting Center, NY, NY
1996
Permutations, Marymount Manhattan College Gallery, NY
1995
Maximum Capacity, Art Initiatives, NY, NY
Personal Visions III, An Art Place, Chicago, IL
1993
Spring Exhibition, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Coalition, NY Group Show, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY The Shape Show, Brookwood Child Care, Brooklyn, NY
Group Show, Organization of Independent Artists, New York, NY
1992
Spring Exhibition, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Coalition, NY
150 x 150, Organization of Independent Artists at Rosa Esman Gallery, NY, NY
Choice, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY
1991
Spring Exhibition, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Coalition, NY Group Show, Organization of Independent Artists, NY, NY Elements of Drawing, AMMO Brooklyn, NY
Selections, 55 Mercer Street, NY, NY
1990
Disparity in Content, AMMO Exhibition Space, AMMO Brooklyn, NY Into the ‘90s, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Coalition, Brooklyn, NY, Gender: A Personal View, Brooklyn, NY
1988
Small Works Show, Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, Brooklyn, NY
1987
Small Works Show, Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, Brooklyn, NY
1985
Small Works Show, Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, Brooklyn, NY
1982
Small Works Show, Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, Brooklyn, NY
1981
Small Works Show, Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, Brooklyn, NY