Brian Rutenberg

Art Brokerage: Brian Rutenberg American Artist: Brian Christopher Rutenberg (born September 18, 1965, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina), is an American abstract painter. Rutenberg received his BFA from the College of Charleston in 1987 and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1989. In 1987 he met painters Gregory Amenoff and Darby Bannard who became important inspirations. He also met sculptor and collector John Raimondi who helped bring the artist's work to a wider audience. In 1989 Francis Marion University Art Gallery in Florence, South Carolina presented the artist's first solo exhibition. Rutenberg was awarded the Basil H. Alkazzi Award in 1991, which enabled him to study in Rome, Bologna and Venice, Italy for three weeks where he studied the works of Annibale Carracci, Bernini and Tiepolo. Inspired by 17th- and 18th-century Italian ceiling paintings and the Villa d'Este near Rome, Rutenberg began his River Paintings series. In 1992 Rutenberg was awarded a year-long Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Grant. One year later, the artist had his first New York solo exhibition, River Paintings, at Cavin-Morris Gallery. During the same year the Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville, South Carolina organized Rutenberg's first museum exhibition. In 1994, Rutenberg started to take trips to Toronto and Ottawa, Canada to closely study Glenn Gould's life and career. He traveled to Canada annually for this purpose until 2002. Inspired by Gould and his music, Rutenberg enrolled in music history classes at New York's Juilliard School. During one of his trips to Canada, Rutenberg discovered and became intrigued with the work of Canada's Group of Seven painters. In 1997 Rutenberg received a Fulbright Fellowship which afforded him the opportunity to spend a year in Ireland. While in Ireland, Rutenberg was honored with studio space at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. He lectured at universities and art schools around Ireland. During his travels around Ireland, the artist's work became shaped by Celtic Culture, specifically the La Tene Period, 600-400 BC. Rutenberg had his first solo exhibition with Forum Gallery in Los Angeles in 2000. Listings wanted.