Allegory of No Region - Taubman Museum of Art · Oil on linen with wood-carved components 6’1” x 10’ Courtesy of the Artist About Face, 2008-2013 Oil on linen with wood-carved

Bill Rutherfoord:Allegory of No Region

TRAVELING EXHIBITION PROSPECTUS

Organized by the Taubman Museum of Art, this exhibition presents the culmination of eight years of concentrated labor producing a massive painting project by one of Southwestern Virginia’s most respected artists. Eleven large scale colorful and densely populated paintings invite the viewer into a complex interweaving of narrative, symbol, and form. Inspiration is drawn from artistic and literary figures as divergent as Jean Cocteau, Jasper Johns, and Joel Chandler Harris while historical references extend from Jamestown to Fort Sumter to the BP Gulf oil disaster. The reclaimed character Brer Rabbit leads the viewer on an epic journey across three centuries of heroism and trickery both comic and tragic ultimately creating historical and contemporary allegories and conundrums that lead to an investigation of the very nature of identity, culture and history - personal and public, regional and national, high and low.

At the heart of the exhibition is an investigation of the splintering of long held beliefs regarding country and culture, particularly the fragmentation of the art world once centered in New York and built around the influential New York School. Rutherfoord’s exploration of the often carefully manufactured and seemingly unrelated histories of Southern culture and modern art leads to what the artist describes as a “blowing up of the myth of regionalism” while contradicting “the model that separated artists into groupings of backward-glancing fiddling rustics and forward thinkers for whom a New York address conferred legitimacy.” For Rutherfoord the “ravages of unfettered capitalism on the country and culture have led to an increasing disconnect between the art market and the places and ways in which art is actually made.” Specifically in the work, Rutherfoord questions the “official histories” of art, nation, and region. His paintings highlight issues such as the environment and human exploitation to studies of personal identity while also depicting wide ranging, even international notions of regionalism, cultural reclamation, and artistic integrity.

Le Radeau des Refusés (Summer), 2008-2013Oil on linen, 70 x 74”, Courtesy of the Artist

Made Without Hands, 2008-2013Oil on linen and wood, 6’1” x 10’, Courtesy of the Artist

Bill RutherfoordAllegory of No Region

Kimberly Piland: Exhibition Coordinator [email protected] 540.204.4126


The scion of a storied Virginia family, Rutherfoord was born in New York City in 1950. He spent his earliest years in Mt. Kisco, New York, before his family moved to Alexandria, Virginia. This was followed by a series of relocations as his father, an Episcopal clergyman (and former professional illustrator) presided over numerous parishes across the Southern United States. Rutherfoord earned a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rutherfoord first exhibited in New York in 1984 and over the years has been included in gallery and traveling exhibitions alongside artists such as Rodney Allan Greenblat, Keiko Bonk, Raymond Pettibon, William Eggleston, and William Christenberry. His work is represented in numerous public and private collections throughout the country including the Taubman Museum of Art. Rutherfoord lives in Roanoke with his wife, the painter Beth Shively.

An exclusive documentary for Bill Rutherfoord: Allegory of No Region was commissioned by the Taubman Museum of Art. Created by videographer William Sellari, the film Artist Profile: Bill Rutherfoord is included in the traveling exhibition. Please view the film here:

http://vimeo.com/98555320

Bill RutherfoordArtist Biography

Bill Rutherfoord during installation of Allegory of No Region, Taubman Museum of Art, 2014 Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Barnett



Includes:11 oil on linen paintings, some with carved-wood components (largest assembled at 11’9” x 25’3”) 1 single channel video (artist interview)Electronic files of labels, wall texts and gallery guide

Space Requirements: Paintings: 93 running wall ft. Gallery size: 176 linear wall ft., 2500 square ft.

Rental Fee: *$12,000

* Rental Fee includes artist travel and talk

Shipping costs: Exhibiting venue pays pro-rated one-way shipping costs

Insurance: To be carried by venue

Courier Expenses: Exhibiting venue pays courier transportation, lodging, and per diem

Supporting materials: Gallery guide, detailed labels, and didactic electronic files and exhibition video (mp4)

Availability: Twelve week rental, July 2015 - September 2022

Traveling Exhibition Specifics



EducationMaterials

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Schrodinger’s Cat:Erwin Schrodinger’s 1935 thought experiment illustrates a paradox evident in quantum mechanics, by imagining a cat in a box, simultaneously dead and alive, until a viewer looks into the box, determining the cat’s fate.

Joseph Beuys:The German artist Joseph Beuys rescued from a nearly fatal plane crash, is best known for a 1965 performance entitled How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare.

Eisen and the acorn:During his performance of How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, Beuys wore an eisen (German for iron) on one foot. The acorn on the heel refers to 7000 Oaks, a land art piece in Germany where Beuys planted 7,000 oak trees, each with an accompanying basalt stone.

“Kunst” sign:“Kunst” is the German equivalent to the English word “Art”.

Education materials include illustrated labels for each painting, such as The Rescue of Beuys (Winter) seen here



EducationMaterials

Bill Rutherfoord: Allegory of No Region is curated by Brian Sieveking, Adjunct Curator of Folk and Outsider Art, Taubman Museum of Art. This exhibition is sponsored in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

110 Salem Avenue SE, Roanoke, Virginia 24011540.342.5760 | www.taubmanmuseum.org

Bill Rutherfoord: Allegory of No Region

The scion of a storied Virginia family, Rutherfoord was born in New York City in 1950. He spent his earliest years in Mt. Kisco, New York, before his family moved to Alexandria, Virginia. This was followed by a series of relocations as his father, an Episcopal clergyman (and former professional illustrator), presided over numerous parishes across the Southern United States. Rutherfoord earned a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rutherfoord first exhibited in New York in 1984 and over the years has been included in gallery and traveling exhibitions alongside such artistic contemporaries as Rodney Allan Greenblat, Keiko Bonk, Raymond Pettibon, William Eggleston, and William Christenberry. His work is represented in numerous public and private collections throughout the country, including the Taubman Museum of Art. Rutherfoord lives in Roanoke with his wife, the painter Beth Shively.

Bill Rutherfoord, Wunderkammer, 2008-2014, Oil on linen; 74 x 70", Courtesy of the artist.

Bill Rutherfoord, What Really Happened, 2008-2013, Oil on linen; 72 x 60", Courtesy of the artist.

Education materials include a full-color trifold gallery guide PDF file (seen above)



IllustratedChecklist



Deception (Spring), 2008-2013Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist

Le Radeau des Refusés (Summer), 2008-2013Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist

Member of This Club (Fall), 2008-2013Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist

The Rescue of Beuys (Winter), 2008-2013Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist

Infirmary, 2008-2013Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist

Pavilion of Perpetual Present, 2008-2013Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist



Wunderkammer, 2008-2014Oil on linen70 x 74”Courtesy of the Artist

What Really Happened, 2008-2013Oil on linen72 x 60”Courtesy of the Artist

Made Without Hands, 2008-2013Oil on linen with wood-carved components6’1” x 10’ Courtesy of the Artist

About Face, 2008-2013Oil on linen with wood-carved components8’7” x 8’3” Courtesy of the Artist

Capital, 2008-2013Oil on linen with wood-carved componentsAssembled: 11’9” x 25’3”Courtesy of the Artist



TRAVELING EXHIBITION PROSPECTUS

For more information, please contact:

Kimberly Piland, Exhibition [email protected]


Taubman Museum of Art110 Salem Ave, SE, Roanoke, VA 24011

540.342.5760 www.taubmanmuseum.org

Documents

Allegory of No Region - Taubman Museum of Art · Oil on linen with wood-carved components 6’1” x 10’ Courtesy of the Artist About Face, 2008-2013 Oil on linen with wood-carved