The “Keepers” series by LACE Ruig is a symbolic contemporary art series born from sketches and memories that resurfaced after decades. Figures such as the woman, the hare, and later the deer embody archetypes of protection, transformation and resilience. They carry the artist’s personal narratives while opening space for universal reflection.
Through intuitive painting, shifting between oil and mixed media, LACE Ruig captures emotions of vulnerability and strength. The hare recalls childhood fables of cleverness, while the deer rises as a symbol of grounded power. Each work in Keepers becomes an emotional landscape, a chapter of symbolic storytelling in art, inviting viewers to discover their own meaning within the hidden layers.
OILPAINTING ON PAPER | WHEN I CATCH YOU | 2024
30 x 40 CM | Framed in museum glass
with wooden frame
When I Catch You
early work:
OILPAINTING ON PAPER | THE LIBERATION | 2024
30 x 40 CM | Framed in museum glass
with wooden frame
a good story
The Liberation” is a 2024 artwork and part of the “Keepers” art series. It was created in oil paint, based on a sketch from a distant sketch-memory. These sketches had been lying in my drawing drawer for years, and, notably, the anthropomorphic figure “Hare” was still intimately connected to “Woman” in them.
THE LIBERATION
But it is ‘a good story.’ The title is not without reason: The Liberation, de bevrijding, La libération. Essentially, it’s about two different periods that have become one. Healed. It’s like a sandwich of a fantastic childhood, starting a family, a significant dip, and eventually rising above it again. Moreover, color comes from all directions. The Liberation. A good story, indeed. This emotional expression in painting brings the story to life. As a result, it invites viewers to connect with the deeper narrative.
OILPAINTING ON PAPER | What If? | 2024
30 x 40 CM
Mirrors
In Keepers, anthropomorphic figures appear as mirrors of our own emotions. They embody freedom, loss, and dreams through their posture and gaze, making the invisible tangible. The mythical layer and the interplay between human and animal evoke a sense of magical realism, a threshold where vulnerability and strength merge into one another.
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