bio

Nathan J. Rutkowski is an artist based in Philadelphia. Since graduating from Certificate program at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Rutkowski has exhibited his work broadly throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. His recent solo exhibition Color and Sound connected visual and auditory form and included over 30 shaped paintings.

Using recycled materials such as cardboard and plastic bags, Rutkowski tears, slathers and manipulates the irregular forms and surfaces of his unique substrate. He then builds color and line through automatic, subconscious mark-making and unfiltered subjectivity. At times, imagery begins to take shape as the surface develops, and Rutkowski further renders and articulates the pictures in the final steps of the process.

In contrast to his deeply psychological process, Rutkowski’s work feels carnal and corporeal. His titles such as Angel of Death and Carnage speak to the pain and suffering of the physical body. Their effect is that of a primal scream or a guttural howl that’s deeply felt within the body and the mind.