Tru Ludwig

Through my art, I grapple with contemporary conundrums, both personal and societal. When it’s time to come up with the subject for a print, working with the human figure and bringing art history to the present have been my modus operandi for many years. I’ve discovered that while some of us talk to think, and some of us think to talk, while carving I can actually shut up and listen to the lessons the universe might be trying to teach. I’ve given myself permission to stop trying to make capital A Art, or things that look like art, and now I seem to be making images I want to not only look at, but also wish to live with. The end results—the prints themselves—invoke time, motion, passages, pathways and perception, invariably with at least a whiff of art historical reference. Though my prints invariably wag a finger with a wicked bit of humor at the foolishness of human nature, they are always created with a deep sense of gratitude and the realization that our time on this earth is fleeting and not to be squandered.

As we grow, we are told that life is a balancing act. For me, that concept presents a picture that is much too poised and delicate. Life is hard. Life is messy. Life is sacred. Life is fun. I’m always wrestling with the tension of opposites in my work and have made that contest apparent: fleeting moments versus the unfolding of geological time; sacred beauty versus secular ephemera; big picture versus little picture; fact versus feeling; reality versus memory; unscripted versus premeditated; acceptance versus denial; fearless freedom versus patient control.

It is has become critical to me to let go, ride the roller coaster and enjoy the ride, even if it is terrifying and awful, thrilling and wonderful. With hope, these forces coalesce into something in the work that may help viewers realize life, in the end, is beautiful. Imperfect, but beautiful.