In the advent of the Northeastern summer, Heart Ego presents the personal show of Ruth Aragón (born in Monterrey, Mexico, 1993). The landscapes of Ruth, made in tufting technique, with incrustations of ceramic flowers and flower petals, contrast the dry environment of the artist’s place of origin, or perhaps show a brief moment of the floral explosion in the Northeastern spring. “Landscapes that grow after rain and during sunny days,” as the artist describes them herself.
However, soft and inviting trails going through the forests and valleys in Ruth’s landscapes should be seen in a rather general context of urbanization. Although it is the flora of the artist’s homeland that inspires the forms and shapes in her works, the contrast of these landscapes is discovered not in relation to the desert-like nature of Nuevo Leon but rather in relation to the dry and colorless urbanistic environment that has rendered cities uninhabitable for most species worldwide. Her rugs include irregular, flowing forms and bright accent colors, and the flowers, although made of hard ceramics, are sensibly natural, often imperfect. Even the textiles themselves lack the traditional rectangular forms of rugs and tapestry.
The scattering of flowers in the artist’s works resembles the millefleur style, traditional for the European tapestry in the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods. Unlike millefleur tapestry, Ruth’s landscapes lack human presence, leaving the observer alone with nature and their observations of it.
Ruth’s practice often examines our reactions towards our immediate environment, thus using landscapes as a subject matter to direct our attention inward. Such were Ruth Aragón’s works in Detrás De Las Cortinas series of textiles, A Través De Las Ventanas painting series, Bajo El Cielo Despejado Después De La Lluvia sculpture and tapestry (realized by the artist in collaborative duo Doble Trama), as well as her ceramic pieces: Jardín. The observed reactions to the tactile, sensual forms might lead the observer of Ruth’s works beyond discoveries of the previously unnoticed properties of the natural world and into a closer understanding of our inner experiences. Perhaps the impulse to touch the soft fabric of the rug, to discover the contrast between the fabric’s soft glow and the sharp reflexes of the ceramic pieces, perhaps these feelings one might encounter with Ruth’s artworks, are in themselves paths and forest trails into our understanding of joy and pleasure we encounter in the nature.
These two seemingly distant directions of the artist’s practice, the outward one (contrasting or healing urban environment and concrete reality of our cities), and the inward one (examining our reactions and impulses towards nature), converge on each observer of Ruth’s ceramic and textile artworks. It is through the physical experience of nature that we can learn to appreciate it again and welcome it back in our cities, our homes, and our minds.
Ruth Aragón studied industrial design and art at the University of Monterrey where she currently teaches as well. She is a co-founder of the Doble Trama collective based in Monterrey. Ruth has participated in several solo and group exhibitions, among which are Cuarteo, Cerámica Mexicana Contemporánea (Ballista Space, San Miguel de Allende, 2023), A todo color en Comercio Popular (Chicago, 2023), Bajo El Cielo Despejado Después De La Lluvia (Castilla Klyuyeva, Monterrey, 2022); Suspensiones Aleatorias de Guadalajara 90210 (Espacio FAMA, Monterrey (2022). In 2022-2023, Ruth Aragón was awarded a scholarship in the framework of Sistema de Creación, Jóvenes Creadores in the category of Textiles.
All of the big scale textiles of this exhibition were created as a result of this award.
