Land of the Zeros, collage and paint on paper

Maryland-based artist Ronnie Spiewak works with a collage aesthetic, creating works that emphasize cut-out and silhouette figures on backgrounds ranging from textured and complex to monochromatic. Working on a variety of substrates, Ronnie tailors her natural figures to suit changing environments.

Here and Gone, collage and paint on paper

In her artist’s statement, Ronnie notes that she has been inspired by the appearance and structure of languages, especially languages that are foreign to her. It’s interesting to look at the works in her portfolio to spot moments where Ronnie’s plant and leaf figures take on an almost linguistic aesthetic, in the way they arranged on paper, and walls. Though a pattern may not be immediately visible, the placement of each object seems deliberate in relation to its surroundings.

The front page of Ronnie's portfolio website

I really enjoy seeing Ronnie’s cut-out figures installed on a wall in a Washington gallery space. This installation allows the viewer to almost step inside one of the artist’s works, and get up close to the mysterious, blacked-out silhouettes that become their own language within the context of the artist’s body of work.

It Happened One Night, wall collage