Ruby Osorio

Region: Pacific Coast

I play with fantasy and unresolved parables in my work, where the poetic and pristine properties of paper are transformed into an elusive landscape that inhabits silent, resolute characters sifting through unfulfilled desires and ambiguous meanings. This space becomes fertile ground for a philosophical inquiry without words or answers.

I find collage, improvisation and chance to be the best guides when preparing to paint. Along the way, images are disrupted, meaning is subverted, and logic is obfuscated in order to ensure that my creative process remains focused on the transformation of signs/signifiers and the fabrication of new meaning. I am interested in the dialectic that emerges as a result; between a painting's ability to expose and also disguise psychosocial constructs.

The formal drawing and painting strategies of my studio practice are inseparable from the discursive nature of my work. Multiple sensibilities find expression in watercolor and gouache, which can be improvisational as well as precise: moody, ethereal, and atmospheric yet strikingly potent. To me, the simple white of stretched paper is an elegant and eroticized surface where a sense of depth and void competes with a fragile sensuality, and stands at the critical juncture of chance, possibility and accident.