Today we’d like to introduce you to Winter Rusiloski.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in a rural setting outside of the city. Landscape was always important to me growing up on acres of land where I frequently explored my family’s property. I grew up painting the rural landscapes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern coast were I loved visiting yearly. My aunt, a landscape painter, and father, an engineer, greatly influenced my work. I began painting landscapes and studying art history around age 9. My focus shifted to abstraction and large gestural marks during my college years. I became a white-water rafting guide in order to spend most of my time on the river enjoying nature, especially light, space and the journey. After working mainly in abstraction, I traveled to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters and became interested in combining abstraction and landscape.
I earned a BFA in Painting and Related Arts-Dance at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Dance was a part of my life from early childhood through a culmination of a degree focusing in dance. Movement, space and expression were early influences on my painting. During my final year, I studied abroad in Cortona, Italy with the University of Georgia and painting professor Janice Goodman. While at Kutztown, my interest in Texas was sparked by painting professors from Texas including George Sorrels. I learned of Jim Woosdon who was then a painting professor at TCU and ended up moving to Fort Worth, awarded a graduate fellowship to earn my MFA at TCU in painting. I once again studied abroad at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, led by the late Ron Watson.
After receiving my MFA in 2002 I began teaching in the college/university systems while continuing to actively paint and exhibit my work. I accepted a full time teaching position at TCC NW in 2008, the same year I had my first daughter. Having four more daughters between 2008-2014, including twin girls, I earned tenure at TCC NW and gained gallery representation at Cohn Drennan Contemporary, Dallas and Artspace 111 in Fort Worth. I continued to pursue national and international exhibitions. In 2015 my artist husband Angel Fernandez and I started a gallery/studio at our Lakeside studio where we curated numerous exhibitions from a both regional and national artists. In 2016 I accepted a position at Baylor University as Assistant Professor of Art – Painting. We moved to West, Texas where I have a studio at Baylor University and we maintain deadWEST Gallery and Studio at Lakeside as well. We are currently expecting a baby boy and have bought property in Terlingua Ranch, Texas as site for an off grid studio to study and work in that majestic landscape. I began exhibiting with Mary Tomas Gallery, Dallas in 2018. Travel is an important part of my inspiration. I’ve had recent Summer Subbaticals and Allbritton Grants from Bayor University which funded travel to sublime locations including Niagara Falls, great Lakes, New England Coast, Trans-Pecos region, boarder areas, and the Texas coast.
I have exhibited nationally, internationally and am in numerous public and private collections throughout the United States. Exhibition highlights include: The Texas Biennial 2009, three time Hunting Art Prize Finalist in Houston, Texas Paint Part 2-Out of Abstraction, a survey of Abstract Art in Texas at the Arlington Museum of Art, The Texas Oklahoma Art Prize at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art and The 30th September Competition at the Alexandria Museum of Art. My work was also included in international exhibitions and publications including Studio Visit Magazine, Dallas Art Fair, and Art Santa Fe, and most recently my work chosen for exhibition at the CICA Museum in South Korea. I have received numerous awards. Artspace 111 in Fort Worth, Texas and Mary Tomas Gallery in Dallas, Texas represent my work.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Finding a balance between life, work, and continuing to make art is a challenge. My teaching positions took a lot of work, including part-time work at 3 different campuses in a semester, teaching 6 days a week. I maintained a rigorous studio practice, and continue to hold a rigorous studio practice while raising 5 children, working on tenure as a painting professor, and expecting a sixth child. Art, family and career are inseparable to us. My husband and I conscientiously include our children in all of our artistic endeavors.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Winter Rusiloski and Angel Fernandez at deadWEST Gallery and Studio – what should we know?
I am a painter with a focus in oil paint (although I have taught all levels of drawing, design and acrylic painting.) I am best known for my abstracted landscapes. I am including an excerpt from my current artist statement. It describes in great detail the qualities of my work that make it unique.
Abstraction, landscape’s vastness and horizon are anchors for my work. I interpret landscape through an exploration of spatial relationships. Journey and movement have been of paramount influence in my experiencing varied landscapes. Abstraction allows me to create loose narratives from memories and suggestive figurative elements within a Romantic landscape. Abstract forms, lines and marks suggest reoccurring ideas of obstacles, barriers and opportunities. I have explored this dynamic in the fusion of landscape painting with abstraction for the past 18 years. In 2006 I began using collaged photographs in my work to introduce a varied vocabulary and space. The photographs act as another layer of mark making and are suggestive of an ambiguous narrative creating a secondary space within painting. This pairing releases representational areas within the work from their descriptive function, creating a dynamic spatial relationship with the whole.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance. Dedication. Discipline. Hunger. I feel that these qualities have contributed to my success. Obstacles are always temporary and provide me a challenge to surmount. I also have a great support system with my partner, Angel Fernandez.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deadwest.org, www.rusiloski.com
- Email: winterrusiloski@hohtmail.com
Image Credit:
Courtesy of Mary Tomas Gallery
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