Yonkers, NY Artist & Author Publishes Art Book

Working Small, Thinking Big, a new book by Ruth M. Gilbert, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.

Working Small, Thinking Big shares the incredible work that originates from a lifetime as an artist. Ruth M. Gilbert has created images for large-scale outdoor sculpture installations in her Yonkers, NY "Yoho" studio. These images, along with figurative painting, are the backbone of this new book. Her ever-expanding vision emerges from reading, travels, interest in history, especially archaeology, and studying the work of contemporary artists. With a new found mastery of her Epson printer, this has resulted in this first published book.

"Away from conventional, pretentious market-driven art, Ruth Gilbert has forged a singular path. Her work is open to unlikely sources: Dada and Fluxus, children drawings, Outsider Art, and art from prehistory. This latest series Working Small, Thinking Big combines dance and sculpture. Through a filmic sequence made with scissors, glue and a camera, it unfolds the mem¬ory of a performance which now exists without having ever taken place."
- Carole Naggar

About the Author
After receiving her B.A. in Art Education from RISD in 1958, Ruth M. Gilbert worked for several years as an Art Teacher in Connecticut and New York. Once in New York, Ruth continued her own art making, taking advanced painting classes in Westchester, Printmaking at Purchase College, and Alternative Photography at Penland in the summer. The next few years, the 60's and 70's, brought major changes to the New York art world and beyond, and Ruth was part of both of these "Happenings": the first being the emergence of Soho as a major art center. Strong galleries exhibited new work from artists each month: The Castelli Gallery, Sonnabend, Paula Copper, Sperone Westwater etc. Ruth was there to see all that.

Second, with friends actively involved in the Fluxus movement, Ruth saw Fluxus objects, read their writing, and was fortunate to see the "Happenings" of Allan Kaprow and Robert Rauschenberg. For Ruth, these events are still major influences in her own work.

Looking to do more of her own work in a comfortable setting, Ruth next set up a darkroom in her home. It was there that she began working in Alternative Photography processes-Hand-Colored Dye Transfer, Kwik Print, and Kallitype (Sun Prints). She began exhibiting her work-Hudson River Museum, Bronx Museum, Pindar Gallery in Soho-a whole new wall installation was exhibited there. Eventually, the work and the pieces became so large that it was time to move onto a separate studio. In 1989, Ruth moved to Yoho Studios in Yonkers and she has been there ever since-painting, making sculptures and large installations, and exhibiting.

Ruth M. Gilbert is the mother of two sons and is a long-time resident of the River Towns in New York. She currently lives with her life partner in an apartment overlooking the Hudson River. Follow the author on-line at http://www.ruthmgilbert.com.

Working Small, Thinking Big is a 158-page hardcover with a retail price of $36.00. The ISBN is 978-1-6495-7094-9. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For members of the press, to request a review copy, visit our virtual pressroom at http://dorrancepressroom.com/working-small-thinking-big/ or to buy the book visit our online bookstore at http://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/working-small-thinking-big/