Best known for his realistic watercolors of Art Deco hotels which dominate the skyline of Miami Beach, Rutkowski reveals in his new works an expressionist style with a personal voice and iconography.
The cloudscapes were completed over seven months as he watched dusk and dawn cast their ephemeral hues. The style originated during a time when Rutkowski studied Atmospheric Sciences at the Severe Storms Laboratory and later Caribbean thunderheads from his balcony overlooking the Atlantic.
The large portraits evolved from Rutkowski's Pop Art sensibility and desire to "have the models become collaborators in the creative process". Mysteriously shrouded in tones of silver or gold, the photograph-like portraits of Balinese daughters are reminiscent of movie star billboards from a previous era.
The show reflects Rutkowski's sensitivity to the beauty of nature and the nature of beauty.
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