Traver Gallery is thrilled to announce an upcoming exhibition combining glass, mixed media sculpture, and augmented reality (AR) technology by renowned artist Ginny Ruffner this September. Ruffner’s new show, Language = Symbols, Symbols = Language, continues her exploration of how art and evolving technology can work in tandem to bring to life a virtual topography filled with the flora, fauna, and analogies the artist imagines. Hold your phone to one of her beautiful lampworked and painted glass sculptures and watch as a beautiful flower emerges and grows into a hybrid flower/bird species on your screen.
Earlier this month, Ruffner was honored with the prestigious 2023 Washington State Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award, the highest honor given by the Governor to individuals and organizations who have made remarkable contributions to Washington’s arts and cultural development. Her use of AR, and now AI, has given birth to dynamic virtual, animated sculptures, creating rich, optimistic narratives while raising awareness about technology’s potential to be an inclusive tool for artists. It also emphasizes the critical role of artists actively engaging with the sciences to expand the discourse surrounding the impact of scientific progress.
Throughout her remarkable four-decade career, Ginny Ruffner has consistently demonstrated a visionary spirit through her exceptional artistry, inspirational life story, and innovative contributions. We are truly honored to share this exhibition with you.
Seattle-based artist Ginny Ruffner trained at the University of Georgia, graduating with honors and an MFA in drawing and painting. Ruffner has had more than eighty-five solo exhibitions and several hundred group shows, and her flameworked and mixed-media sculptures and installations can be found in numerous national and international collections. Seattle public art installations include a 30-foot-tall kinetic water feature downtown and a permanent installation in the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. Recent augmented reality projects, in collaboration with Grant Kirkpatrick, include “Weston Riff” at Photo Center NW, “Branches” at the Seattle International Film Festival, and “Poetic Hybrids” at the Seattle Art Museum. She has written two books and been the subject of an award-winning full-length documentary, “A Not So Still Life: The Ginny Ruffner Story” (2010). Ruffner has lectured and taught extensively and has served as artist-in-residence at schools and universities around the world.