Ruggiero’s work focuses on the composition of objects, using the still life genre to provide an intimate glimpse into a time or place, or into an individual’s interests or environment. Employing color, pattern, and form, Ruggiero paintings are often filled with objects that relate to specific experiences or events the artist has shared with her family or close friends.

Precarious Balance includes paintings that focus on personal loss, while others wrestle with large-scale losses of the pandemic. Some of the art explores damage inflicted on the natural world-such as to oceans, plants and animals. She uses both natural and man-made objects and references in her paintings that are personal and specific, yet ordinary.

About the Artist

Maria Ruggiero has showcased her paintings in regional and national juried exhibitions, as well as a solo show and group exhibitions abroad. She received an MFA in Studio Art from Kent State University and a BFA in Studio Art and English from Michigan State University. Ruggiero is represented by Gallerie Nettles in Muenster Germany and her work is part of numerous private and permanent collections. She is a Professor of Art at Eastern Michigan University.

About The Art Gallery

The UCC Art Gallery is located in the Whipple Fine Arts Building at Umpqua Community College, 1140 Umpqua College Road, Roseburg, OR, 97470, The Art Gallery is a 100 square-foot exhibition space that features six exhibitions per year, showcasing a variety of media from emerging to established artists. The primary focus of the Art Gallery is to exhibit high-quality artwork for the education and cultural benefit of the students of UCC and the residents of Douglas County. The gallery is free and open to the public. Hours are Monday – Wednesday, and Friday 10 am – 4 pm, and Thursday by appointment.

Contact

Susan Rochester
Associate Professor, Visual Art
Phone: 541-440-4692