Sonia Ruscoe is a painter from and based in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
edu. CUNY Brooklyn College.
This work explores everyday negotiations with constraint. Using representations of the body—sometimes fragmented, sometimes disembodied or anthropomorphic—I examine the ways in which physicality both limits and frees us. I am particularly drawn to investigating how feminine societal expectations and personal relationships shape the embodiment of identities. The materials I use, such as shredded canvas, water and oil based paint, and recycled fabric, mirror this theme of fragmentation and reformation, and center the concept of body as being itself the object.
My process is experimental, often involving rapid, fast-paced painting to kickstart each new piece. This is paired with moments of slower, meditative work—like laying a canvas under a tree and recording the shadows that change with time, and other reppetitive pattern work. Variations in approach are intentional, each one informing the next.
Selected Exhibitions
2024
SPILL, Spill Gallery, Redhook Brooklyn, NY (trio- Annie Bielski, Luka Carter, Sonia Ruscoe)
Thrill (solo), Nonchalant gallery, Catskill, NY,
In the Pale Moonlight, September Gallery, Kinderhook, NY
2023
Hot Compost, Casa Lu, Mexico City
Freaky Flowers, September Gallery, Kinderhook,NY
2022
a jar, Baba Yaga, Hudson NY. 2 person show with Luka Carter
Flat Files, Collar Works, Troy, NY, curated by Jeremy Dennis
2021
The Door, Punk Alley, Better Read than Dead, Brooklyn, NY
2020
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2019
Water Chestnuts, Basilica Hudson Back Gallery (solo)
Young Hudson Bienniel, September Gallery, Hudson, NY
Rounding The Corner, 4ws Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Grand Buffet, Hudson,NY
Family Reunion, Lucas Lucas, Brooklyn NY
2018
Do you Know Anyone With A Kiln?, CPR projects, Brooklyn NY
Bright Future Works on Paper, curated by Jack Walls, Catskill NY
Being Alive, Troy NY, curated by Kelsey Renko and Michael Valiquette
Medium Mode Range, Newburgh NY, CPR gallery Curated by Chelsea Cater
2017
Temporal, Cactus Shop, NY NY
Plant Show, Mothership, Woodstock NY, Curated by Elbert Perez + Becca Van K
Fake Funerals / Death Wish, Peace Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Julia Subb
Nasty Women, Instar Lodge, Germantown NY, FourD projects
Residency
2025
Shandaken Print Residency, Catskill, NY
2023
Casa Lu, Mexico City, MX
Window to the Sky in the Middle, Colorado College Crestone
2019
Basilica Back Gallery, Hudson NY
Mas Els Igols, Barcelona, Catalunya
2017
Mudhouse Residency, Crete Greece
Press
Nancy Smith The Bomb 2024
Times Union In the Pale Moonlight, 2024
Chronogram In the Pale Moonlight- 2024
60wrdmin- Lori Waxman, New City Art
Drawing Class/NY Times
in print
Tomorrow Archive Volume 2
Yale CCAM inaugural printed Volume
Brooklyn Review Fiction + Art 2023
qnop archive, Alé Campos and Tomm Roesch- 2021
album cover, Tim Ruscoe, Two Part, Stream here
Recipricol- a collection of poems-2020
Hot Fridge- Lil’ Deb’s Oasis
Small Town Folk Wave on Quiet Roads (edited by Awa Moon)-2015
curation
Incident Report Field Reporting 11,12,13,14 ...2019
CPR- Brooklyn Clay Tour ...2018
Basilica Hudson Back Gallery Group Show...2017
instagram- @soniaruscoe