In 1959, Ruth Owens was born to a young German woman and a Black serviceman from Georgia. The nomadic military lifestyle of her childhood was complicated by restrictions to mixed families in many communities and laid the basis for the...
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In 1959, Ruth Owens was born to a young German woman and a Black serviceman from Georgia. The nomadic military lifestyle of her childhood was complicated by restrictions to mixed families in many communities and laid the basis for the formation of her cultural identity. She graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans after quitting her medical practice of over 25 years. She will continue her artistic pursuits showing with Jonathan Ferrara Gallery of New Orleans, and participating the artist collectives: A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, New York and “The Front” in New Orleans. She completed a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in July 2018. Notable solo shows include “Identity Theft,” 2018, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, “Baby Love,” 2018, University of New Orleans Gallery, “Conspiracies,” 2017, Barrister’s Gallery, New Orleans, and “Stepin’ Out,” Xavier University Chapel Gallery in 2016. Ruth Owens has also participated in numerous group shows including the “Currents, 2018,” at A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, “Honey Trap,” at The Front Gallery, New Orleans, LA, “Image and Text” 2017, at Site: Brooklyn Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, “LA Contemporary, 2015” at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, “Contemporary Artists Respond to the New Orleans Baby Dolls,” 2015, at the McKenna Museum of African American Art, “Imago Mundi: New Orleans: Repatriation,” Prospect.3 Adjunct at the New Orleans Museum of Art, “True Colors,” 2014, at the Ashe Cultural Center, and “NOLA NOW: The Human Figure,” 2012 at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans.
I explore personal memory involving my mixed race family in a culture of racial divide.