Lithograph on wove paper.
One of five artist’s proofs.
Aside from an edition of 25.
Signed, titled, numbered, and dated in pencil.
Image size: 14 1/2 x 10 1/8 inches.
The work takes the viewer up close. It is personal. But in Opal Ecker DeRuvo’s prints nothing feel voyeuristic. Thanks to a conscious choice of depicting real people, partners, their mother, themselves, friends… DeRuvo puts us at ease in being part of the intimacy they renders. Etched, drawn on stone, cut out of wood or created as monotypes, people whose identities are generally not part of the equation, nevertheless reveal themselves. Self-care routines that seem familiar, moments of peace or rest, or the communion we find in getting our hair cut or makeup done, are all drawn to transcend the individual and show our shared humanity. While mostly using black and white, DeRuvo manages to derive a warm feeling from deep contrasts and soft gradations of gray. It is as if people part of their life, and whom we obviously do not know, were welcoming us into their intimacy. The effect is one of soft embrace.
Opal Ecker DeRuvo is the name the artist has chosen for themselves. They were previously referred to as Paul DeRuvo.
