Alexander Rutsch

Alexander Rutsch (1916 - 1997)

Paintings

Alexander Rutsch's Paintings


Bather Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 64"	Dream Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 32"	Laurance Medium: mixed media Size: 24" x 72"	Nude Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 32"

Nude with Blue Background Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 32"	Nude with Red Hair Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 32"	Reclining Nude Medium: mixed media Size: 32" x 80"	Reclining Pink Nude Medium: mixed media Size: 32" x 40"

Seated Nude Medium: mixed media Size: 47" x 36"	Silhoutte Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 32"	Twins Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 64"	Yellow Nude Medium: mixed media Size: 40" x 32"

Biography

Alexander Rutsch was born in Russia in 1916 but raised in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. After studying voice in Austria he became an opera singer like his parents, but after WWII, Rutsch's love for visual expression propelled him to change careers. He was a painter, sculptor, philosopher, musician, singer and poet.

In 1952, after studying under Josef Dobrowsky, Josef Hoffmann and Herbert Boeckl at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, Alexander Rutsch received a scholarship to study in France. There he made contacts and began collaborations with his contemporaries, Picasso and Dali. Rutsch said of his experiences with Picasso, "Picasso played a short but important moment in my life in Paris that affected my entire artistic future. I learned from him that it is not important if art is not aesthetically finished. It can be raw, uncooked, rough. If an artist feels he has said it—it is not important to polish or finish it. Because of Picasso, I learned that if I don't feel the need to finish—I don't have to." In 1954 he exhibited his work at the Salon Artistique International de Saceux and won first prize for abstract painting, the first of may awards received during his prolific career.

During the 13 years he lived in Paris, Rutsch exhibited in many prominent galleries there and throughout Europe. In 1958, The City of Paris awarded him the prestigious Arts, Science and Letters Silver Medal. In 1966, Jean Desvilles presented his prize winning film "Le Monde de Rutsch" at the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennial. In 1968 Rutsch moved to the United States where he continued to work in his studio and exhibit in galleries and museums worldwide.

Alexander Rutsch passed away in 1997. His friends, supporters and family established the bi-annual Alexander Rutsch Award and Exhibition competition for visual artists.