MFA 2024 Artists MFA 2024 Artists: Ruth Douzinas

MFA 2024 Artists

Ruth Douzinas

UMass Dartmouth 2024 MFA Thesis Exhibition

About Ruth Douzinas

Ruth Douzinas is a New York based artist, environmental engineer, and entrepreneur primarily working in ceramics, while also branching out into weaving and sewing found materials. She received a BA from Dartmouth College in Environmental Biology and holds an MS from Stanford University in Environmental Engineering and Science. Ruth works in Long Island City, Queens and is currently an MFA candidate in Ceramics at UMass Dartmouth. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at NCECA Sacramento, the Yellowstone Art Museum in Montana, the Workhouse Art Center in Virginia, and Katheti Cultural Center in Greece, and other institutions.

Statement

Made of clay and found materials, my large-scale sculptures are either constructed through stacking or assembly of disparate parts. They are based on iconic manmade forms—pallets, cinder blocks, and columns—that are foundational to our economy, but often overlooked and abandoned: relegated to the stream of waste. Broken, repaired, and meticulously reworked using layers of glaze to create worn surfaces, these sculptures honor useful objects. Patina, scale and presentation devices are used to represent an inquiry into value - what is saved and repaired versus what is thrown away and exposed to natural degradation. Interweaving feelings of hope and futility, I leverage the pace of the discarded object as commentary on current environmental change and human ingenuity.