Joshua Ruder

In my work I explore and represent the ways in which people interact with and are affected by others, their environment, nature, and everything that is human-built. Therefore, even though I primarily sculpt bodies, I am really looking into relations. I am fascinated by the dualities of life and death; growth and decay; and the human impulses to both create and to destroy. Through my sculptures, I aim to put the concept of humanity into conversation with various aspects of the world that we inhabit in order to learn more about what it means to be human.

My sculptures are usually created through a process of addition and subtraction that culminates in a completed form. Their formation mirrors that of a living person, and they are full of opposites and contradictions, they are fragile, vulnerable, and imperfect, just as the living are. However, they are frozen in a single moment of existence. I do not try to bring my creations to life, but rather to construct a past for them.

I work in a variety of materials including clay, plaster, stone, steel, and wood. I choose the material or combination of materials that will best allow me to express the particular idea that I am attempting to communicate.

I sculpt because I believe it is the most effective way for me to communicate my thoughts, feelings, and observations about the world. Art provides me with a space for reflection, and my sculptures are the synthesis of these thoughts.