Alan Ruthvan Art

An excursion into the talents and Art of Alan Rutvan

During his lifetime Alan Ruthvan worked privately at home and never sought to promote, exhibit or sell his work and it’s clear he was never motivated to create for any personal gain or ego. 
Had he followed the tradition route and sought the limelight it is likely that he would have been a sought after and celebrated painter, sculptor musician and writer.  Or would he ‘Ruthvan’s strength was that he was not easily distracted – he was a free thinker – not a follower.  His philosophy on life is captured in this extract from his writings on Existence.
“Truth and understanding wait outside words rather that within them; enlightenment something felt rather than heard and more often precipitated by dissatisfaction with a premiss rather than it’s acceptance, the best use having been to tease open the mind rather than to fill it” 
The brilliance within his work is raw and undistracted.  He was fiercely driven by a love for the practical process and the way he was personally affected by form, light, colour, and Life. 
We now have the opportunity to glimpse into the consciousness of a private and curious man.  To share the beauty he expressed, in how he marvelled at nature, humanity, and perceptions of reality. Of how he speculated, and how he ‘dug so very deep’ to understand the very essence of creativity, reality and life, is evident in his artworks and his writings. 
“Consciousness and existence can be taken as two different things; I exist everywhere but I am only conscious here.
I am a collection of parts come together and existing through the apparent oneness of my body.
To know of one’s existence is to be conscious.  It is impossible for there to be consciousness without matter.  In order to know of oneself, there has to be something to know of and a place in which to do so, a reflection.  The existence of consciousness and the existence of matter, therefore, arrive at the same time.
Whilst it could be said that matter may exist without consciousness, It exists only so long as I know that I exist, thus, the existence of matter without consciousness is the equal only of non-existence.”
Whereas Ruthvan’s sculptures are deeply telling of his own emotions and his observations around close relationships, every 360 degree viewpoint and beyond has been carefully considered in their planning and execution, with a love and respect of the forms within the grains of the medium itself – wood. 
These works trigger, stir and connect individual emotions of love, and humanity.  Perfectly combined forms with a quirky wit, these beautifully executed works deserve to be taken out of their private shadows and placed into the light as centrepieces.