Ruth Shively “It Girl”

Anthony Philip Fine Art

[Image: Ruth Shively "Freedom" (2016) charcoal and graphite, 24 x 36 in.]

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Anthony Philip Fine Art presents Portland, Oregon, artist Ruth Shively in her first New York City gallery solo exhibit. “Ruth Shively: It Girl” will premiere ten new drawings, on display in the Bushwick gallery.

Shively’s masterfully illustrative drawings capture the beauty and power of the 21st century woman. Done primarily in charcoal and graphite, her soft renderings of women are balanced by high contrast and exciting compositions. She is drawn to the dynamic between positive and negative space, even when depicting contemplative moments.

The women featured in these works possess an inner strength and confidence that transcend their superficial beauty. The sense of vulnerability exhibited by Shively’s models is not a weakness, but rather a means of drawing you in and preparing you for their vitality and intelligence. If you look into their eyes, you see smart, fierce human beings who will shape the world to their designs. They are thoroughly modern, without need of approval or permission to be who they are. And her subjects also act as a sort of talisman, bestowing that same confidence on both the viewer and the artist.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and former assistant to internationally renowned Illustrator Steven Guarnaccia, Ruth Shively has exhibited extensively on the West Coast, Midwest, and Upstate New York, and her work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections, nationally.