David Ruddell explores his own mythology for the journey of life by using the boat form as a metaphor for the passage of the human vessel through time. The physical representation of this symbol is meant to represent the choices we make in our lives.
In this exhibition Ruddell has created works on raw poplar panels and blackboards, including a small series of boats on children's readymade chalkboards. Ruddell utilizes a palette of rich blues, reds, and yellows, in natural tones that evoke a symbolic landscape.
David Ruddell's work is in the collections of the Smithsonian American Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC, the di Rosa in Napa, California, and the Oakland Museum of California, as well as many private collections.
BORN
1954 Northern California
EDUCATION
1989 University of California, Berkeley, MFA
1976 California State University, Fresno, BA in Art
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 New Work, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 David Ruddell, New Work, Braunstein/Quay Gallery
2005 50 California, Boats as Metaphor
2004 Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002, 1999, 1997, 1995, 1994, 1992
2000 Shorenstein Company
1991 ACCESS Program, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1988 Papillon's, Rheem Valley, CA
1985 La Galleria, Benecia, CA
1984 Armond Roi Gallery, Martinez, CA
Los Medanos College, Pittsburg, CA
1982 Armond Roi Gallery, Martinez, CA
1981 Red Rose Gallery, Benecia, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Summer Salon: Materials, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
2010 Art in Embassies Exhibition, Estonia
2008 Surroundings, Susan Street Fine Art Gallery, Solano Beach, CA
2005 Oceans Spell/ New Work, Susan Street Fine Art Gallery, Solano Beach, CA
2003 Recent Acquisitions, Smithsonian American Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington DC
Branch Out, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Gallatin River Gallery, Big Sky, MT
2002 Night Skies & Imaginary Coordinates, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
Shades of Summer, Susan Street Fine Art Gallery, Solano Beach, CA
2001 Adrift, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
1999 New Space, New Work, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1997 Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996 Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
1994 Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
Historic Sports, 400 S. Hope Street Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Braunstein/Quay Gallery Artists, Shasta College Gallery, Redding, CA
1993 Sea Fever, Transamerican Pyramid, San Francisco, CA
In Reverence of Wood, University Art Gallery, California State University, Hayward, CA
Made of Wood, Travelling Show: Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA, Hewlett Packard, Cupertino, CA
and Pac-Tel, Walnut Creek, CA
1992 Matrix International ‘92, Matrix Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1991 Bedford Gallery Biennial, Regional Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
1988 Three Painters, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA
Six Figurative Artists, Worth Ryder Art Gallery, Berkeley, CA
1985 Walnut Creek Civic Arts Center, Painting Competitive, Walnut Creek, CA
1983 30th Annual Art Show, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
1982 California State Exposition, Painting, Sacramento, CA
1981 California State Exposition, Painting, Sacramento, CA
COLLECTIONS
Smithsonian American Museum, Renwick Gallery
Century Aluminum, San Francisco, CA
Veronica & Rene diRosa Foundation, Napa, CA
Hewlett-Packard (Domestic)
Hewlett-Packard (International)
Neuberger and Berman Management, San Francisco, CA
Nikko Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
Oakland Museum of California, CA
Sofinnofa, San Francisco, CA
Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
David Ruddell, with essay by Karen Tsujimoto, 1999
New American Paintings, Number 37, Open Studios Press
Dalkey, Victoria, “A Show of Force”, Sacramento Bee, May 10, 1992, p. 3
Porges, Maria, “On the Scene”, Artspace, May/ June 1992