About The Artist

Ruth Killoran is a fluidly energetic artist whose geomorphic stone sculptures command attention. The smoothly textured stone is shaped into seamlessly curvaceous forms which belie their own weight – an intrinsically difficult task to achieve. With such creative force applied to stone, the fact that Killoran’s painted works are so deceptive and intriguing should be no surprise. Interesting watercolour and ink patterns merge into hypnotic birds, while fluid ink sketches organically morph into themselves – illusion and continuous visual deception employed by the artist to stimulate and challenge the viewer. (Gallery Curator, Selwyn Gallery, Darfield) Born and educated in inner city Liverpool. Ruth found art absorbing from an early age. She went to Liverpool Art College for 2 years, experimenting with different art forms and for 3 years studied at Teesside University, gaining an Honours degree in 3 dimensional design. This led to a successful career as a commercial interior designer, working in and around London. Ruth came to live in New Zealand in 2006. A year later she discovered the joy of carving stone and decided to have a complete career change. She works as a full time artist from her home studio in Christchurch. Carving stone has ignited a passion for painting. Her style of painting has developed since carving stone and both art forms feed off each other. When carving, Ruth likes direct contact with the stone, carving intuitively by hand, being led by the form and features that are unique to the material. Her paintings are treated in a similar way, following the flow of paint, allowing images to appear, and weaving light through her work. Her inspirations come from observing natural forms such as pebbles, bones, shells and rock formations. “Each shape is different and I am constantly finding new shapes that I want to include in my work”. Ruth is gaining a reputation for creating distinctive, original work. She has been a finalist for the last 2 years for the Aesthetica Creative Arts Competition and more recently won awards for both her sculptures and paintings. Both her sculptures and paintings are displayed in private collections in New Zealand and abroad.