February 20, 2008, New York: Forum Gallery presents an exhibition of new landscapes by painter Brian Rutenberg. Using vivid color and swirling abstraction, Rutenberg evokes the physical and emotional depths of his South Carolina childhood. Heavy impasto contrasts with areas of smooth surface, while bold primary colors play against soft pastels to create a unique sense of mood and tone for each of his highly personal subjects.

Rutenberg describes the exhibition: "Palmetto is a reference to my native South Carolina, but these paintings are not really about the Carolina landscape. I chose the title because I believe in the power of art that has strong ties to a specific place but also has universal berth…. My imagination was formed along the coast of South Carolina however, my paintings are not about reliving an experience but the total possessing of it."

Rutenberg also explains that this recent body of work is heavily influenced by Cubism, which he calls the "delicious conflict between naturalism and abstraction or… bending the laws of nature to fit the laws of art." He describes Cubism as the process that seeks to reconcile the use of color to render form, versus color as form. This process is prominently and constantly at work in Rutenberg’s landscapes.

Brian Rutenberg’s work can be found in the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC: Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN; Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL; and Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY among others. Included in his many accolades, Rutenberg is the recipient of a 1997 Fullbright Scholarship and a 2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in painting. His work was the subject of a ten-year retrospective exhibition at the Butler Museum of Art, Youngstown, OH, and has been featured in solo and group exhibitions through the country.

The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color 32 page catalogue. The opening reception will take place on Thursday March 6, 2008 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Forum Gallery, 745 Fifth Avenue at 57^th Street, Fifth Floor. The exhibition continues through Saturday April 19, 2008. For more information please contact the Gallery.

CONTACT: Rachel Feinberg