News - Ruth Lieberherr Art Dance Yoga

Belmont Gallery of Art - OPEN NOW!
Dec. 19, 2020 - Feb. 28,2021
Virtual Exhibit
FACING YOU: A Portraits Show--
Online Now!

All New!
Featuring Work by Over 60 Artists

www.VirtualBGA.Org

Three of my portrait paintings are shown in the new virtual exhibit of the Belmont Gallery of Art:

"Two Friends", a portrait of my younger daughter Eva when she was about 7 years old with her friend Jaimee Joroff;

"Andrea", a portrait of my older daughter as a teenager;

"Portrait of my Father".

Holiday Art Boutique Nov/Dec 2020
(in connection with Waldorf School of Lexington, MA Virtual Holiday Fair)

New picture books and art cards by Ruth Lieberherr added for sale See Picturebooks Page.
Picturebooks available through amazon.com or email me with your selection of books and cards. Handling and postage add $5.-

Prints and paintings are also available, please inquire.
Ruth.Lieberherr@gmail.com

Booksigning at Homespun on Thursday May 16, 2019, 8:30 - 11:30am

What are Verdingkinder?

Author/illustrator and Waldorf grandparent Ruth Lieberherr’s new book
The Boy Without A Name tells the story of one of the many small children who were taken from their mothers and made to work as contract children or indentured child laborers (“Verdingkinder”) in Switzerland in the 20th century. The book is based on the life of Ruth’s father who was one of these children.

The Boy Without A Name -
Event at The Jenks Center Winchester, Massachusetts, March 27, 2019

Power Point Presentation about historical background, Ruth's research and her artistic journey to her picturebook (video by Jay Sullivan).

The Boy Without A Name
With
Author/ Illustrator
Ruth Lieberherr
Wednesday
March 27, 2019
at 1 pm
at The Jenks Center

Learn about Ruth’s ancestry and her new children’s book, based on the life of her father, one of the Verdingkinder in Switzerland.

Free. All Welcome.
The Jenks Center
109 Skillings Rd, Winchester, MA 01890, 781-721-7136

Ruth Lieberherr: Dreamscapes
Art Exhibit at First Parish Church
September 1 - October 31, 2018

Closing Reception Saturday, October 27, 3 - 5 pm
At 3:30 pm dance performance by Skyloom Dance Group &
music by Andrea Douglass & Panayota Haloulakou

First Parish Church, 7 Harrington Rd, Lexington, MA 02421, 781-862-8200
On view: Mo - Thurs 9 am - 3 pm, Sun: 9 am - 1 pm

Ruth Lieberherr: Art Exhibit 5/12 to 8/22/18
Extended through September 2018
At Portal Crystal Gallery, 489 Mass Ave, Arlington Center, MA

OPENING RECEPTION: Sat. May 12 (3-5pm)

ART SHOW: May 12 thru Aug 22, 2018
ADMISSION: free and open to the public

Interview with artist Ruth Lieberherr, by Kyle Russell,
about exhibit at Portal Crystal Gallery

ABOUT THE SHOW
Portal Crystal Gallery is proud to present the work of artist Ruth Lieberherr. She has made available a selection of her vibrant acrylic paintings which engage the viewers and invite them to explore their own imaginations. Please read her Artist Statement below, and plan to join us between 3 and 5pm on the afternoon of Saturday, May 12th, 2018. The show runs until August 22.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Remembered landscapes, people, feelings, find a new, dream-like reality in my work. I start either with developing images out of color on canvas, without a premeditated concept, or doodling on paper and transforming the doodles into grisaille (gray scale) underpaintings. Adding many washes of transparent paint, images emerge from a deeper level of consciousness, evolving into archetypes. From the fluid feeling of paint on canvas or on paper, I go where the inspiration of the colors leads me. Influenced by the ideas of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, I explore the character and expressions of the different colors.

The artwork grows out of the act of painting in a metamorphosis of form and color through its various layers. Most often I don’t like to keep the images abstract, but human figures, animals, images from nature start to emerge. My life experiences and preferences sneak into my paintings along with the archetypal images. Whimsical figures, faces, real and fantasy creatures inhabit my artwork. From growing up in Switzerland to dancing with my liturgical dance group “Skyloom”, from reading fairy tales to walking among elephants in Ghana, from the mundane to the exotic and spiritual, my experiences find new expression in my “Dreamscape” paintings. They invite the viewers to explore and expand their own imagination .

I have also illustrated several picture books: Winter, Awake!, written by Linda Kroll, Journey to Inner Space, written by Deborah Cohen, The Knottles, written by Nancy Mellon, Hafez, The Mathematical Stonecutter, written by Michael Punzak, and just last year: By Some Great Spell, written by Mary Beth Melton.

ABOUT THE GALLERY
Newly opened in Arlington Center, the Portal Crystal Gallery devotes an entire section of its gallery space to showcasing outstanding paintings and photography, with new Artists exhibiting every other month. Any questions about the gallery, please email Kyle@PortalCrystalGallery.com, and visit the site: www.PortalCrystalGallery.com.

OTHER NEWS ABOUT RUTH'S ART

Ruth has a new art work in the juried show "Lost & Found" at the Cambridge Art Association (25R Lowell St, Cambridge, MA), on view until May 3, 2018
www.cambridgeart.org

Ruth also has two paintings in the juried exhibit "Fairytales, Folktales and Fables" at the Belmont Gallery of Art (Town Hall Complex, 19 Moore St, Belmont, MA) on view until May 4, 2018
www.belmontgallery.org

Ruth Lieberherr: Dreamscapes
Art Exhibit at Trinity Episcopal Church
September 11– October 30, 2017

Trinity Episcopal Church,
81 Elm Street, Concord, MA 01742, Tel. 978-369-3715
Hours:
Mon- Thurs from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Fri from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Reception:
Sunday, October 22, 3 - 5 pm, dance performance by Skyloom Liturgical Group

Endangered: Society, Environment, Our Future
Art Exhibit by Ruth Lieberherr at the Cutter Gallery, April 2 - May 28, 2017
Cutter Gallery, Lower Level Entrance, Jefferson Cutter House, 1 Whittemore Park, Arlington, MA, (Wheelchair accessible)
http://www.cuttergalleryarlington.com/?page_id=7

Opening Reception:

Saturday, April 8, 2017       3-5PM
Music by Andrea Lieberherr Douglass and Panayota Haloulakou

Gallery open with artist on site:

Thursday, April 20, 2017    4-6PM
Friday, April 28, 2017    4-6PM
Friday, May 5, 2017    4-6PM
Friday, May 12, 2017    4-6PM

Closing Reception:

Sunday, May 21, 2017    3-5PM

Endangered: Society, Environment, Our Future

After the turmoil and disappointment of the election, I felt the necessity to create a very different exhibit than I had originally planned for April/May 2017 at the Cutter Gallery in Arlington.

Offended by the candidate/president’s blunt sexism, racism and misogyny and his supporters’ tolerance and acceptance of it, I began a painting celebrating the feminine. More paintings were inspired by unexpected discussions about politics with my grandchildren (in Kindergarten and first grade) who had overheard talk about the candidates in school. After a discussion about honesty and dignity, I told them that this was a very special election as this was the first time the U.S. had a woman as a candidate for president. My 5 ½ year old granddaughter responded with her favorite question: “Why?”

Concerned not only about global warming, but also about how we treat our environment, I created work pointing to the pollution of our earth, our air and our water. For example as an avid open water swimmer, I love water, rivers, lakes, the ocean. So I created artwork from recycled material - bubble wrap, plastic bags, cloth, string which I found in my household - referencing the huge amount of waste floating its way to the gyres of our oceans. Representing the future I painted life size full figure portraits of the two of my grandchildren which had started the discussion about politics. May we take care of our society and the world we live in for the sake of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The public is cordially invited to an opening reception on Saturday, April 8th, from 3 to 5 pm. Music will be played by Andrea Lieberherr Douglass and Panayota Haloulakou.

The Gallery is open with the artist on site on Thursday, April 20th, from 4 to 6 pm, and Fridays, April 28, May 5 and 12, from 4 to 6 pm. The public is also invited to a closing reception on Sunday, May 21st, from 3 to 5 pm.
The Cutter Gallery is located in the lower level of the historic Jefferson Cutter House at 1 Whittemore Park (corner of Mass. Ave. and Route 60) in the center of Arlington. Town parking is behind the Cutter House. Wheelchair accessible.

Ruth Lieberherr featured as artist of the week December 21, 2016 in Cambridge Art Association's Blog:

http://www.cambridgeart.org/caa-blog/

Interview below:

Artist of the Week:
Ruth Lieberherr

What are your earliest memories of being artistic?

I always loved to paint, draw, and sketch, to cut, glue and make things, as early as I was able as a small child.

When did art become a pursuit?

I am Swiss and I studied German Literature and Art History at the University of Zurich, but during semester breaks I would always travel and paint. When I moved to the US in 1977, at the suggestion of a friend I wrote and illustrated a picture book that was eventually published in Switzerland. That was my first step in pursuing art seriously. In 1980 I entered my first juried show in Princeton, New Jersey. I was thrilled to be accepted! Shortly after that I was offered to have my first solo show, at Princeton University in 1981 and another solo exhibit in 1982 at Educational Testing Service in Princeton. For both shows people came to my house, packed my paintings and hung my art work. I had no idea that this was a wonderful exception – and that I would pack and transport and often hang my paintings myself for years to come.

Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art?

I don’t have a degree in fine arts, but I had intensive training in visual art in high school (Gymnasium) and I took courses at the art academy in Zurich while I was studying at the university (and I have continued to take courses in fine arts since then in the different places I have lived).

How did you first become involved with CAA?

I moved to the Boston area in summer 1983 and I joined the CAA when I found out about it in 1984.

In what other ways are you involved in the local art community?

I am a member of the Winchester Artists Network and I am exhibiting in their group shows and other events and also in other local venues, like Art in Bloom or Gift of Art at the Next Door Theater in Winchester. I used to be a member of many more local art associations when I first came to Boston, from the Copley Society to Boston Visual Artists Union to Arlington, Winchester and Concord Art Association to name a few. I also used to teach watercolor and acrylic painting classes locally.

What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium?

I am painting currently in acrylics and I am also working on paper for several picture book projects (pencil, colored pencil, oil pastel, watercolor, and mixed media).

One of the picture book projects is about my father (who was a “Verdingbub”, a kind of indentured child laborer in Switzerland). In a past small group show at CAA in November 2014 (Motion Envisioned) I showed a large mobile with silk panels and also mixed media work dealing with that same subject. I showed that mobile as well as portraits and videos about the same theme a year later, in November 2015, at a one day solo event at the Next Door Theater in Winchester.

What is your creative process?

In my acrylic dreamscape paintings I try to access images from deeper level of consciousness, starting without a preconceived concept (experimenting with color - or doodling and then transferring the doodles to a grisaille underpainting).

If I am illustrating a story or working on the projects about my father’s life, the process is very different as a clear subject is given. For the picture books I am translating the story line into sequences of images and then start sketching.

Recently, I have also been interested in video – creating paintings with a tiny video inside or objects/installations with video. I am also a dancer, yoga teacher and swimmer. Often movement, people moving, people swimming occur in my art work. I love water and nature. For more than a year I obsessively videotaped water (the ocean, lakes, rivers, streams, brooks, waterfalls, rain, puddles, flooding etc. for hours and hours of video, which I finally edited down to a 30 minute video).

In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made?

Often my most recent piece is my favorite piece, if all is going well – but of course sometimes I have a hard time with what I am working on. And then I move on to my next favorite piece.

My appreciation of my own work changes with hind sight. Some work I still like, others I don’t. Even though I am in general not working in a realistic way any more, I still love some of the portraits I did of my family, as well as some of my early realistic paintings.

I will include in my samples an old portrait of my daughter as a child (now a mother herself) and one of my early realistic paintings, Shell IX, which won several awards. I will also include two of my newer dreamscape paintings as well as the mobile about my father and the cover of one of my picture books.

What is one of your artistic goals for 2016?

I hope to find a publisher for the picture book about my father, finish the illustrations for another picture book that I am working on (story by another writer) and creating new work for two upcoming solo shows in 2017.

What living artists are you inspired by?

I love art by many artists, living or dead. I love the color, composition, design, drawing, sculpting – and of course recently I have been fascinated by installations and videos (e.g. last week I saw “The Clock” by Swiss American artist Christian Marclay at the MFA; or a funny video by Fischli Weiss which I have seen both in Switzerland and more recently at the ICA, “Der Lauf der Dinge” – “The Way Things Go”.)

Do you own any art by other artists?

Yes, a few – but my husband keeps reminding me that we have long run out of space!

Do you have any shows coming up?

April - May 2017
Solo Show at
Cutter Gallery
Jefferson Cutter House
Arlington, MA

Sept. 11 – Oct. 30, 2017
Solo Show at
Parish Hall Gallery
Trinity Church
Concord, MA

Website: www.RuthLieberherr.com
Posted Yesterday by Community Engagement
Labels: AOTW artist of the week IFTTT

The Boy without a name and much more ….
Video, installation, art by Ruth Lieberherr
Sunday, November 15, 2015, 2 – 5 pm

Followed by a special showing of the award winning film “The Foster Boy” (“Der Verdingbub”, Swiss German with English subtitles, adult content) by Swiss director Markus Imboden.

At Next Door Theater, 40 Cross Street, Winchester, MA 01890, 781-729-NEXT, www.nextdoortheater.org
Open to the public - free event.

About the event: "The Boy without a name and much more ..."

I have been researching the life of my father who was taken from his single mother and placed as an indentured child laborer with a farmer in Switzerland. The resulting mobile of photographs of my father's life on large silk panels, as well as paintings will be shown in a one day event at the Next Door Theater in Winchester on Sunday, November 15th, from 2 to 5 pm.

Besides working as a visual artist, I am a yoga teacher and dancer. Combining my interests in visual art and movement, I began to explore video and video installations, which will be showcased at the event as well.

In conjunction with the exploration of my father's heartbreaking childhood experience, the award winning feature length film by Swiss director Markus Imboden “The Foster Boy” (“Der Verdingbub”, Swiss German with English subtitles, adult content) will be shown at Next Door Theater the same evening.

Ruth Lieberherr, "The Boy Without A Name", mobile with 10 silk panels, based on the life story of the artist's father (an indentured child laborer/"Verdingkind" in early 20th century Switzerland)

Ruth Lieberherr, Bea Grayson and Bob Hesse will show new work through the Cambridge Art Association:

MOTION ENVISIONED
November 3 - 29, 2014

A Multidimensional, Visual Exploration of Motion, Its Myriad Meanings and Manifestations Through Unconventional Media:
Fabric, Fiber, Video, Wood, Wind, Installation

OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 3 - 5 PM
PANEL DISCUSSION: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 6 - 8 PM

For photos of the exhibit, click here

Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11 am - 5 pm
Kathryn Schultz Gallery
25 Lowell Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

617.876.0246
info@cambridgeart.org
www.cambridgeart.org

“It is not because we live in the same town, have known each other for many years, see each other often, that we came together to propose a Small Group Show to the Cambridge Art Association. However because of the above we discovered that we are all interested in the expression of movement through different art media. In our own way we are each concerned with the same artistic challenge.

Movement in art, as in life, represents directional growth and personal development into new things. Movement is an integral part of our art making and we are all striving to explore, through the use of a multitude of visual and physical elements, all of its possible implied revelations. It can be seen in Liebeherr’s flowing shapes paintings as well as the inserted digital videos; it can be seen in Hesse’s gossamer silk photo prints and Grayson’s compositions that use lyrical fonts as current favorite visual elements.

As we all strive to give our personal expressions of how we respond to visual movements, we also know that these pieces are but visual images temporarily frozen into place and time and more derivations will certainly follow.”

Ruth will show and sell her picture books, art cards and prints at the Winchester Farmers Market on the Town Common on Saturday, September 20, 2014, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm. She will also do a demo: 11:30 am - 12 noon.

Ruth's newest picture book:
Hafez, the Mathematical Stonecutter
Illustrated by Ruth Lieberherr
Written by Michael Punzak
$15.95
Available through
www.amazon.com

Check out Ruth's other picture books through
the picture book link

Ruth's acrylic painting "Three Cats" is in the
Cambridge Art Association's Fall Salon
September 5 -26, 2014

Reception: Friday, September 12, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Ruth's painting one of 71 art works chosen from nearly 1000 submissions for
RED exhibit

Juror Amy Sadao, Director, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, selected Ruth Lieberherr's painting HOT FLASH! (12" x 12" x 2", acrylic on deep cradle claybord) for the biennial regional show RED at the Cambridge Art Association.

Erin Becker, Norma Jean Calderwood Director of the Cambridge Art Association wrote in her acceptance letter:

"For the 2013 edition of RED, we received applications from 333 artists, representing nearly 1000 individual pieces of artwork. From this diverse and extremely strong pool of art, Ms. Sadao selected 71 pieces to be exhibited at the CAA, from December 11, 2013 - January 24, 2014."

Opening reception: Thursday, December 12, 2013, from 6 -8 pm
at both the Kathryn Schultz Gallery and University Place Gallery.

Kathryn Schultz Gallery and Offices:
25 Lowell St. Cambridge MA 02138
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11:00am to 5:00pm. Closed for month of August.
tel: 617.876.0246 • email: info@cambridgeart.org
Free and Open to the Public

University Place Gallery:
124 Mt. Auburn St. Cambridge MA 02138
Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm • Saturday 9:00am to 1:00pm
Click here for a list of businesses that validate, if you park at University Place Garage
Free and Open to the Public

Two of Ruth's paintings are accepted into the Brush Gallery Juried Member's Show "Pret a Porter"

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 14, 2013, from 2 - 4 pm
The Brush Gallery & Artists Studios
256 Market St., Lowell, MA 01852
978-459-7819
info@thebrush.org

Exhibit Dates: December 14, 2013 - January 11, 2014
Brush Gallery Members' Show: Prêt à Porter
Including work by the New England Sculptors Association

Lieberherr, Red Tree, 24" x 18", acrylic

Lieberherr, Light into Darkness, 24" x 18", acrylic

Ruth 's painting "What's the rush? Or at the center of the universe" was chosen for Cambridge Art Association's 2014 Calendar Project.

The calendar can be viewed on the CAA's website and ordered from them for $ 15.-

Ruth's painting is reproduced on the page for May 2014.

Thank you to everybody who voted for my image.