MWA’s ‘Playful Images’ Highlight Ruth Grotenrath

Ruth Grotenrath(1912-1988) studied at Milwaukee’s Layton Schoolof Art, but it appears that she truly connected her heart and talent to France andFauvism. In viewing the works of Grotenrath, one can see how Fauvism, anearly-20th-century modern art movement led by Henri Matisse (1869-1954),influences her career, which began about 15 years after the Fauves arrived in Paris. It was during thelate-1930s that Grotenrath’s distinct style evolved to emulate Fauvism’sdelight in vivid color, form and pattern.

The exhibition“Ruth Grotenrath: Playful Images” at West Bend’s Museum of Wisconsin Art (MWA)highlights 14 paintings from a career that saw distinguished exhibitionsnationwide, including at the Art Institute of Chicago. Grotenrath’s medium ofchoice became caseinan opaque milk-based paint similar to gouacheon masoniteor paper, humble materials in works that also included ink, tempera and waxcrayon.

Numerous images inthis engaging exhibition appear to embrace the Modernist philosophy of Fauvism.A large unframed painting titled StillLife With Plant and Tea Cups features saturated colors loosely and fluidlybrushed on paper. The distorted perspectives and angles create an intriguingarray of shapes balanced against bright hues in these familiar objects. 

One gallery wallfeatures four floral paintings that reflect Grotenrath’s later period, aftershe had traveled to Japan in the 1960s. The simplicity and serenity derivedfrom the artist’s exposure to Far Eastern aesthetics embody her work from thisperiod. White Iris, a singleflowering stem with a pattern defining the paper’s border, clearly interpretsthese new impressions.

The tiny casein onJapanese paper Untitled (Cat) depictsa perfect merging of Grotenrath’s two major influences. In the diminutivepainting a curled black-and-white cat sleeps among a heavily detailed andpatterned background, an interplay of exotic color and texture converging in acharming and decorative image.

Many Grotenrathpaintings express an exuberance for life through the vibrancy of subjects andpatternsa tenet passionately maintained by the Fauves and Matisse later in hiscareer. This context imparts a timeless quality to Grotenrath’s artwork, andone eagerly anticipates the more complete retrospective on Grotenrath coming tothe MWA in 2011.

“Ruth Grotenrath: Playful Images”has beenextended to July 11.