Ruth Geneslaw

Ruth Geneslaw grew up in Buffalo and Kenmore, NY.  She enjoyed visiting what was then the Albright Knox Art Gallery where she was drawn to the sculpture of Marisol who would come to have a strong influence on her later work. She received a BFA from the University of Buffalo and taught art briefly in the Cheektowaga schools.  After moving to New York in the early 60s to attend graduate school at Teachers College, Columbia University, Geneslaw began to find her own direction.

Her longtime interest in the sculpture of naive and outsider artists led to her experimentation with woodcarving. Using knives and basswood, she began to construct narrative vignettes that explored social and political themes, often incorporating autobiographical elements.  As her work developed over time it became edgier and resonated on different levels.  With humor and pathos she has sought to address the hypocrisy, ambivalence, and hubris of events that touch our lives.  Geneslaw also became a librarian and worked in a public library for thirty years.  The strong connection to books and language led to the incorporation of text and visual puns in many of the works. The human condition continues to provide endless material for her commentary. 

Geneslaw is an award winning artist who has exhibited throughout the United States including the Newark Museum, Montclair Museum, Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Katonah Museum. She is the recipient of two fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a grant from the Empire State Crafts Alliance and was an artist-in-residence at Artpark.  More can be seen at www.ruthgeneslaw.com.  She maintains a studio in Haverstraw, NY in the Hudson valley.