Art and Projects
Concepts and Key Themes
Ruby T [b. 1986] is an artist, educator, and organizer. Her work is an experiment in translating fantasy to reality, and she is fueled by anger, desire, and magic. Rooted in drawing, her practice has offshoots in painting, print, fibers, comics, and video. She has exhibited and performed at Western Exhibitions, Roots & Culture, and Iceberg Projects in Chicago; Hales Gallery in New York; and Bass & Reiner in San Francisco. Her comics and illustrations have been published by Half Letter Press, and are in the collection of the Thomas J Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She lives and works in Provincetown, on Nauset and Wampanoag land.
Ruby T was named a 2018 Breakout Artist by Newcity and has had solo and two-person exhibitions in Chicago at Western Exhibitions, Randy Alexander Gallery, Roots & Culture, The Back Room at Kim’s Corner Food, and Woman Made Gallery.
Group exhibitions include Hyde Park Art Center, EXPO Chicago, ACRE Projects, Ballroom Projects, Roman Susan, all in Chicago and at Monaco in St. Louis. She has performed and screened video works at Chicago spaces including Iceberg Projects, Weinberg/ Newton Gallery, Gallery 400, Chicago Filmmakers, and Comfort Station. Ruby T received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016 and lives and works in Chicago.
PDFfigy (portrait of Rush Limbaugh) from Welcome Packet: The First Ritual Retreat on the Viability of Kidnapping, zine produced with Betsy. Johnson, eight xeroxed 8.5 x 11″ pages in a manila envelope, 2017
Ruby’s illustrations and comics have been published by Temporary Services and the short-lived Land Line. Her work has been written about and reviewed in the Chicago Tribune, Newcity, The Chicago Reader, and Chicago Artist Writers. She has received grants from the Chicago Department of Public Affairs and residency and fellowship awards from Ox-Bow, Wassaic Project, and ACRE. Her band Lezurrexion performed in over 50 crusty basements, clubs, and secret outdoor spaces between 2011 and 2015, and she is a current member of the organizing collective Make Yourself Useful.
PDFfigy (portrait of Rush Limbaugh) from Welcome Packet: The First Ritual Retreat