Gloria Santoyo Ruenitz
"Shelter" the verb
22 Haviland Street Gallery
Norwalk, CT
Through April 1st
203-852-6727
By D. Dominick Lombardi
22 Haviland Street Gallery is an oasis. A vintage home turned gallery, with its space originally designed for living, not looking. And I hesitate to say this, but all this welcoming homeyness makes the overall art experience here fun. We get so used to the white windowless boxes we call galleries that one can easily forget that art is being made in people¹s homes and in distinctive studios. For this exhibit, Gloria Santoyo Ruenitz offers a number of beautifully composed works that are wistful, celebratory, painterly and steeped in objects and symbolism. And, even though the potent content of these art works is rather specific and direct as the exhibition¹s title suggests, it takes a good amount of time to fully appreciate these works. There is also a suggestion here, when looking at these works, of going through a grandparent¹s bedroom draws or attic, reading a stranger¹s diary, or perusing an old photo album. An effect that is clearly amplified by the gallery itself, with its cozy dimensions and personal elements.
In making her art, Santoyo Ruenitz often scrolls right into their waxy surfaces with meaningful words which, when combined with reproductions of old photographs, earthy tones and well worn, latin looking objects become alluring and timeless. And Santoyo Ruenitz¹s art is so wonderfully simple and symbolic as it represents love, memory and dreams with a quiet wisdom that is both edgy and comforting. In one piece titled LOVE, the artist dangles from various strands, numerous keys form a whitewashed, metal, scared heart crowned with its classic mane of flames. The symbolism is easy to read, yet the work radiates its message beyond its physical borders. I suspect this has something to do with the size and shape of this work: a tall and very narrow wall piece. But there is something else going on here. I am guessing it¹s reverence - a feeling that her subjects really and truly mean something to her. She, or someone she knows intimately has lived through a weighty experience and come out with a deep respect for that experience, and what it has taught them - and that is what ends up in the art here.
There are also less weighty works on display that are quite successful. My favorite is another example of how powerfully emotive in their simplicity, these works are. WISE HEART has as its main element, a decorative pin - another metal, pendant sized, flaming sacred heart - that opens up to reveal a small toy eye as its lone treasure. And when viewing this seemingly quick and immediate gesture, it is easy to imagine the artist smiling, even laughing while it was being assembled. Yet it is in that playfulness, in that immediacy that stands the soul of a thinker, an observer of life, and a chronicler of experiences that are fluidly shared and completely revealed.
Gloria Santoyo Ruenitz Baggage I,
2007 Mixed Media
all rights reserved by Resolve40 © 2006
