Ruth's paintings explore abstraction through colour, light and surface; work combines inner and outer worlds, with conscious and unconscious elements. Sometimes emerging from experiences of place and walking, the paintings convey a sensory experience whilst also being concerned with the materiality of paint and process. The scale is often intimate, working 'face to face' with the viewer and there is a sense of touch rather than gesture. As Maurice Merleau Ponty wrote 'How would the painter or poet express anything other than his (her) encounter with the world' G A Johnson 'The Merleau Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy & Painting' (Northwestern University Press, Illinois, 1993:176)
Ruth regularly exhibits in the UK and abroad, working from a studio in Sudbury, Suffolk. She is a member of Contemporary British Painting and also curates shows including Lines for Agnes (2015). She has had work selected for the Jerwood Drawing Prize and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and has work in collections in the UK, Ireland, USA, Switzerland and China. Ruth has an MA in Fine Art, Norwich University of the Arts, a BA in History of Art, University of Warwick and is represented by Gallery Attache on Artsy and Cobbold & Judd Fine Art.
Projects connected with place and placemaking also form part of Ruth's practice, engaging with audiences through events, walking, & film/installation. She is working on Fabric: Silk Road, with sound artist Stuart Bowditch, a cultural and ethnographic exchange making connections between the silk mills of Sudbury, Suffolk and the silk industry and traditions along the Silk Road from China back to the UK. They undertook a research trip to the eastern end of the Silk Road in China in October 2018, supported by a British Council Artist's International Development Fund Grant. She is currently researching the UK Silk Road. Ruth worked on a film | walks | swim project The River Runs Through Us with Stuart Bowditch on the River Stour in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk with a film tour along the river in the summer of 2018, funded by Arts Council England and Dedham Vale AONB. This acted as a seed project for the River Stour Festival , an annual year long festival along the river, from the source to the sea. In 2020 they set up Pasture a new project space based in Braybrooks, an old dairy in Ballingdon, next to the ancient water meadows in Sudbury, Suffolk, offering a space for artists, musicians, writers and other creatives to come and think, make work and immerse themselves in the surrounding landscape.
Ruth regularly exhibits in the UK and abroad, working from a studio in Sudbury, Suffolk. She is a member of Contemporary British Painting and also curates shows including Lines for Agnes (2015). She has had work selected for the Jerwood Drawing Prize and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and has work in collections in the UK, Ireland, USA, Switzerland and China. Ruth has an MA in Fine Art, Norwich University of the Arts, a BA in History of Art, University of Warwick and is represented by Gallery Attache on Artsy and Cobbold & Judd Fine Art.
Projects connected with place and placemaking also form part of Ruth's practice, engaging with audiences through events, walking, & film/installation. She is working on Fabric: Silk Road, with sound artist Stuart Bowditch, a cultural and ethnographic exchange making connections between the silk mills of Sudbury, Suffolk and the silk industry and traditions along the Silk Road from China back to the UK. They undertook a research trip to the eastern end of the Silk Road in China in October 2018, supported by a British Council Artist's International Development Fund Grant. She is currently researching the UK Silk Road. Ruth worked on a film | walks | swim project The River Runs Through Us with Stuart Bowditch on the River Stour in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk with a film tour along the river in the summer of 2018, funded by Arts Council England and Dedham Vale AONB. This acted as a seed project for the River Stour Festival , an annual year long festival along the river, from the source to the sea. In 2020 they set up Pasture a new project space based in Braybrooks, an old dairy in Ballingdon, next to the ancient water meadows in Sudbury, Suffolk, offering a space for artists, musicians, writers and other creatives to come and think, make work and immerse themselves in the surrounding landscape.
Exhibitions
2021
Nowhere, Cley 21, Cley Contemporary Art, NNEP, Cley next the sea, Norfolk
Here, The Art Station, Samundham, Suffolk
This Year's Model, Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street London
Art Top Ten Lockdown Interviews Exhibition, The Cello Factory, London
2020
Vitalistic Fantasies, Contemporary British Painting exhibition, part of the BEEP Painting Biennial 2020, online
yes/no, Contemporary British Painting online exhibition
Natural Beauty, North House Gallery, Manningree
Beyond Other Horizons: Contemporary Paintings made in Britain and Romania, Iasi Palace of Culture, Iasi, Romania
Mycorrhiza and Extancy, Survival Strategies, Sluice Artist-Led Culture, at AMP Gallery, 1 Acorn Parade, London
2019
Terrace: A Hand Stuffed Mattress, curated by Karl Bielek, at William the Fourth, 816 High Road, Leyton, London
Between Us: A biennial exhibition and exchange with artists from East Anglia and China at Ex Marks the Spot, Great Yarmouth & University of Suffolk, Ipswich
Path, North House Gallery, Manningtree
The Colour in Anything, solo show at the M2 Gallery, Peckham, London
Alive in the Universe at the Venice Biennale, Palazzo Pesaro Papfava, Venice
Made in Britain: 82 Painters of the 21st Century, Priseman Seabrook Collection at the National Museum, Gdánsk, Poland
Contemporary British Painting: An Exhibition of 34 Painters at The Hostry, Norwich, Cathedral, Norwich
Painting as Terrain, The Crypt, Marylebone Parish Church, London
2018
New Painting, Contemporary British Painting members' show, The Crypt, St Marylebone Parish Church, London
LOCAL ANYWHERE Sluice Members Show 2018, Sluice HQ, 171 Morning Lane, Hackney Central, London
Paintlounge Berlin, Sluice Exchange 2018, Kühlhaus, Berlin
The First Biennial Sino-British Contemporary Art Exhibition, Yantai Art Museum, Yantai, China
Estuary, North House Gallery, Manningtree
The River Runs Through Us, The Boat House Gallery, Flatford (NT) & film screenings at various venues along the River Stour
Brentwood Stations of the Cross, Highlights from the Collection, Komechak Art Gallery, Chicago, USA
This Year's Model part I: Does the Body Rule The Mind? Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street London
Alive in the Universe, film, Caroline Wiseman & Aldeburgh Beach Lookout, London Art Fair
2017
Cobbold & Judd Winter Show, Nayland, Suffolk
Contemporary Masters from Britain: 80 British Painters of the 21st Century, Contemporary British Painting exhibition touring China 2017-2018, including Yantai Art Museum, Yantai; Artall Gallery, Nanjing; Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing & Tianjin Academy of Fine Art, Tianjin, China
Yves Beaumont & Ruth Philo: Paintskips, Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
Testcard P, Contemporary British Painting, The Crypt, St Marylebone Parish Church, London
PIY Paintlounge, Sluice Biennial, London
We are the Weather, residency at the Aldeburgh Beach Lookout, Aldeburgh.
Paint Ground, solo show, Westminster Reference Library, London
Anything Goes? Art Bermondsey Project Space, London
Contemporary Masters from the East of England, East Anglian Art Fund, The Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk
Seascape, Skyscape & the Colour Blue, The Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe, Essex
2016
30 x 30 x 34 Contemporary British Painting: 34 Painters, The Crypt, St Marylebone Parish Church, London
Contemporary British Painting, Summer Exhibition, Quay Arts, Isle of Wight
Looking Up, Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
to the lighthouse film with Stuart Bowditch, in Arcadia for All, Radical Essex, Big Screen Southend, Focal Point Gallery, Southend
PING, The Minories Galleries, Colchester, Essex
Paint Collective: Ways of Seeing, Boat House Gallery (NT), Flatford
ART/Converters, Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
This Year's Model Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
2015
Contemporary British Painting: Group Show, The Crypt, Marylebone Parish Church, London
Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition 2015, Jerwood Space, London
Lines for Agnes: 9 Contemporary Painters, The Crypt, Marylebone Parish Church, London
Stations of the Cross, SE9 Container Gallery, Eltham
to the lighthouse, residency show, grove-projects, Bury St Edmunds
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Piccadilly, London
ART/converters! Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
Opening Exhibition, Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe
Stations of the Cross, Contemporary British Painting at Brentwood Cathedral, Brentwood
Towards Abstraction, Gallery Argentum @ KI Europe, High Holborn, London
This Year's Model Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
2014
Red Xmas Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
@PaintBritain, Ipswich Art School Gallery, Ipswich
Priseman-Seabroook Collection, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield
Another Shade of Green, Red Lion Books, Colchester
Open Studio Showcase, The Minories Gallery, Colchester
Cley 14 'A Creative Conversation',Cley Contemporary Art, NNEP, Cley next the sea, Norfolk
Another Shade of Green, The Benham Gallery, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester, Essex
ART/converters! Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
2013
Beyond the Facade, Blickling Hall (NT), Aylsham, Norfolk
Colchester & Tendring Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester, Essex Open Studios
From Land to Sea,The Aldeburgh Gallery, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Always There, Cultivate, Vyner Street, London
Pink, Cultivate, Vyner Street, London
Imperfect Present, Future Perfect, The Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk
This Year's Model, Studio 1.1, Redchurch Street, London
2012
Tide's In, The Aldeburgh Gallery, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Open Studios Showcase The Minories Art Gallery, Colchester, Essex
Colchester & Tendring Open Studios, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester, Essex
Stray, Islington Arts Factory, London
Fool's Gold, Cultivate, Vyner Street, London
It is Green, Cultivate, Vyner Street, London
Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, King's Road, London
2011
Open Studio Showcase Benham Gallery, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester
Colchester & Tendring Open Studios, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester
MA Show, Norwich University College of the Arts
2010
Future Perfect, Stew Gallery, Norwich
Waterlines, Norwich University College of the Arts
Mura, Norwich University College of the Arts
2008
Open Exhibition, Halesworth Art Gallery, Suffolk
2004
Studio Artists & Students, Wysing Arts, Cambridgeshire
Curating/Projects
2021 UK Silk Road mapping the history of silk and silk mills in the UK, exploring current silk related sites and making connections. Part of Fabric: Silk Road
2020 - Pasture a new project space initiative by painter Ruth Philo and sound recordist Stuart Bowditch based in Braybrooks, an old dairy in Ballingdon, next to the ancient water meadows in Sudbury, Suffolk, offering a space for artists, musicians, writers and other creatives to come and think, make work and immerse themselves in the surrounding landscape.
2020 Mapping the Mulberry mapping mulberry trees in East Anglia as part of Fabric:Silk Road
2019- Secretary, Contemporary British Painting
2018-2019 Programme Co-ordinator for Sudbury Silk Festival 2019
2018 Artist Selector for the Contemporary British Painting Prize, Huddersfield Art Gallery & the Menier Gallery
2018- Fabric: Silk Road, project involving a cultural and ethnographic exchange, making connections between silk mills of Sudbury, Suffolk and the silk industry and traditions in China with sound artist Stuart Bowditch. Research trip to China 2018, supported by a British Council Artists International Development Fund Grant.
2017- River Stour Festival, Stour Valley, Suffolk, festival director, working with steering group, developing an annual programme, supported by Dedham Vale AONB & Stour Valley Project and various other sponsors and local organisations.
2016-18 The River Runs Through Us, project with sound artist Stuart Bowditch and the people & communities along the River Stour, Cambridgeshire, Essex & Suffolk. Film, walks, swim, exhibition, 2017-18, supported by Arts Council England & Dedham Vale AONB & Stour Valley Project
2016- WeAreTheWeather, collaborative participatory project using light, colour and sound to explore weather and mental health with sound artist Stuart Bowditch, with a residency at Aldeburgh Beach Lookout, 2017.
2016- Resort exploration of the nature of resorts on the Sunshine Coast, Essex through research & painting
2015- Walking & Painting, research project & painting exploring connections with Constable's landscape
2015 Co-ordinated PAINT! talk by paint maker Pip Seymour @ Firstsite, Colchester,
2015 to the lighthouse, collaborative residency with sound artist Stuart Bowditch at grove-projects, Bury St Edmunds with light and digital film/sound installations
2015 Lines for Agnes: 9 Contemporary Painters, exhibition co-curated & organised with Terry Greene, The Crypt, St Marylebone Parish Church, London, with accompanying booklet and panel discussion
2015 - 2019 Social media organiser, Paint Britain & Contemporary British Painting
2015- Member of Contemporary British Painting
2014- Studio holder at Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester
2014 Cley 14: a creative conversation, education project with Art foundation students at Norwich City
College
2014 Another shade of green, 6 week Residency at the Benham Gallery, Cuckoo Farm Studios,
Colchester as part of their Flourish residency series, in collaboration with Cants of Colchester, a
local rose grower
2013 Lost & found - from the attics, research project with residency & exhibition Blickling Hall (NT), Norfolk
2012- to the lighthouse an exploration in paint, photography & collaborative digital film/sound piece & light installations with sound artist Stuart Bowditch & a residency at grove projects, Bury St Edmunds in 2015, based on field work on Orford Ness & visits to the lighthouse
2012- Lights & Buoys, research & painting looking at systems of coastal navigation
2011 Coastal Traces: After Sebald, a collaborative book and performance based project on Covehithe & its connections with WG Sebald, with Susan Barrett-Kelly & Caroline Munn
2010-14 Associate Artist, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester
2010- Member of Outpost, Norwich
2010-14 Member of Future Perfect (a flexible association of artists that curates projects and exhibitions with core and invited artists, founded in 2010 by MA graduates from Norwich University of the Arts)
2005-7 Co-organiser,Visions of Sudbury, community engagement project, supported by Heritage Lottery Fund, in St Peters Church with Gainsborough's House & schools & organisations, Sudbury
2003 - Member of Gainsborough's House Print Workshop
2003 Curator, 25 Years Exhibition, Conference Space, Great Cornard Upper School, Sudbury
Teaching, Lecturing & Community Engagement
2020
Lockdown Interview with Robert Dunt, Art Top Ten
2019
Lecture & workshop on Pigments & Grounds & Art Practice at Leeds University, Leeds
2018
Talk on art practice at Yantai Art Museum, Yantai, China
Artist Selector for the Contemporary British Painting Prize 2018
The River Runs Through Us film tour along the River Stour, Suffolk & Essex & screenings at Yantai Art Museum, Yantai China & Sluice Exchange, Berlin
2017
Series of walks & public swims as part of The River Runs Through Us
The colour blue talk at the Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe
2016
Walk & draw workshop, Flatford (NT)
Skies, Constable's skying & the colour blue workshops, Ipswich Museum
Artist's portfolio & critique sessions, group critiques with art societies & groups
2015
Painting & Walking; Walking & Painting, part of lecture series supporting John Virtue exhibition, Firstsite, Colchester
Lectures on professional practice, individual artists portfolio & critique sessions, group critiques with art societies & other groups
Co-ordinator of the Paint Collective, Colchester (2014-2015)
2014
Outreach workshops with Smiths Row, Bury St Edmunds & Suffolk Artlink in various locations
'A Creative Conversation' Cley 14, North Norfolk Education Project, with Art Foundation students,
City College, Norwich
2013
Outreach projects with Suffolk Artlink & Smiths Row in various locations & family art workshops: Hands on History Days, Wormingford Community Education Centre
2012
Art workshops in various locations with Smiths Row, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Artlink, The Alzheimers Society, Wormingford Community Education Centre, People's Community Garden, Ipswich, Footprints Theatre Company, Colchester, FALCON Childrens Arts Festival, Holt, Norfolk & Stanton Heritage Project, Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
2011
Art workshops with Suffolk Artlink & Gainsborough's House in various locations
2010- Freelance Artist/Facilitator working with galleries, groups & individuals
1987- 2010 Teaching GCSE & A level Art in Secondary Education in Hertfordshire and Suffolk
1981-1986 Picture Librarian, Woodmansterne, Watford
1978-1979 Archaeological Assistant, South Lincolnshire Archaeological Unit, Heckington
CV
2009-2011 MA Fine Art Norwich University of the Arts
1990-1992 PG Diploma Art Textiles Anglia Ruskin University
1986-1987 PGCE Art Institute of Education, University of London
1975-1978 BA Hons History of Art University of Warwick