Ruth Asawa
Citizen of the Universe
“Art will make people better, more highly skilled in thinking and improving whatever business one goes into, or whatever occupation. It makes a person broader.” – Ruth Asawa
Citizen of the Universe takes a unique look at the visionary artist, educator and activist Ruth Asawa (b. 1926, Norwalk, CA – d. 2013, San Francisco, CA). The exhibition features her signature hanging sculptures in looped and tied wire, and celebrates her holistic integration of art, education and community engagement through displaying prints, drawings, letters and photographs.
Asawa called for an inclusive and revolutionary vision for art’s role in society. As a teenager she lived in an internment camp due to the forced relocation and incarceration for some 120,000 Japanese-Americans by the US government on the eve of World War II. Despite the extreme conditions she learned artistic skills from professional artists and left in the firm belief that art can be life changing and a positive force for social good.
Asawa studied at Black Mountain College from 1946-49, nurturing her philosophy of the “integration of creative labour within daily life”. Here she formed a lifelong friendship with visionary architect R. Buckminster Fuller, who once described her as one of the greatest artists he knew. As a result of her experiences at the college, Asawa recognised that people can choose to transcend race, class and nationalistic divisions.
For Asawa, living a full life meant being socially engaged, having a family, creating art with them, and fully participating in the life of her local community. Quietly charismatic, Asawa chose to identify as a “citizen of the universe”, developing a sense of higher purpose grounded in improving life through art. Foregrounding these ideas, this exhibition is an affirmation of her timely relevance as a champion of the vital role creativity plays in society.
Citizen of the Universe is the first public solo exhibition in Europe of Ruth Asawa’s work. The exhibition is organised in partnership with Modern Art Oxford where it was on display from 28 May - 21 August 2022. Curators: Emma Ridgway (Modern Art Oxford) and Vibece Salthe (Stavanger Art Museum).
Installation views at Stavanger Art Museum, 2022
Photos by Erik Sæter Jørgensen
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Photo: Imogen Cunningham, Ruth Asawa Working on Her Wire Sculpture 3, 1956.
Photograph by Imogen Cunningham.
© 2022 Imogen Cunningham Trust. Artwork
© 2021 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. / ARS,
NY and DACS, London. Courtesy David Zwirner
Installation views at Stavanger Art Museum, 2022
Photos by Erik Sæter Jørgensen
Artworks © 2021 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. / ARS, NY and DACS, London. Courtesy David Zwirner
The exhibition is organised in partnership with
Curators: Vibece Salthe (Stavanger kunstmuseum) and Emma Ridgway (Modern Art Oxford).
Education: Elin Lillebråten
Exhibition coordination and exhibition design: Marte Moen Danielsen and Maiken Winum
Graphic design: Peter Dawson
Exhibition technicians: Arild Kleppa, Helene Espedal-Selvåg, Matt Bryans and Bjørnar Hesby.
Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.
With additional support from:
Exhibition catalogue:
Published to accompany the exhibition Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe.
Produced by Thames & Hudson in close conjunction with Modern Art Oxford and the Stavanger Art Museum, Norway.
Designed by Peter Dawson, Grade Design
Format: Paperback with flaps
Extent: 208 pp
Size: 280 x 230 mm
Illustrations: 183
Media and press coverage in Norway:
NRK Rogaland, radio 29. september 2022: Skup på Stavanger kunstmuseum: Ruth Asawa
NRK Rogaland, TV 30. september 2022: Ruth Asawas kunst i Stavanger
Stavanger Aftenblad 30. september 2022: Dette er Stavanger alene om i Europa v/Tarald Aano
Samtiden 30. september 2022: Utstilling: Ruth Asawa - Citizen of the Universe
Stavanger Aftenblad 9. oktober 2022: Kunst i verdensklasse v/Trond Borgen
Klassekampen 19. oktober 2022: Eleganse fra oven v/Kåre Bulie
Subjekt 21. oktober 2022: USA «Stjal alt» fra henne. Men Ruth gjorde det til kunst v/Torill Frislid Gustafson
CAS 26. oktober 2022: Ruth Asawa - verdensborger, kunstner, visjonær, aktivist, pedagog v/Anne Therese Tveita
Kunstavisen 16. november 2022: Et originalt og insisterende kunstnerskap v/ Arve Rød
Subjekt 16. november 2022: Tar fra oss munn og mæle v/Mona Mørk
NRK Radio Studio 2 - P2 21. november 2022: Hvem var den japansk-amerikanske kunstneren Ruth Asawa? v/Mona Pahle Bjerke
NRK 23. november 2022: Skyggedronningen. Et strålende kunstnerskap løftes ut av skyggene v/Mona Pahle Bjerke
Periskop 25. november 2022 Stavanger kunstmuseum: - Å skape kunst kan forvandle liv v/Arnhild Sunnanå
Morgenbladet 16. desember 2022: Hinsides noe av det som ble produsert i 1980-tallets hyssingknyttebølge v/Espen Hauglid
Stavanger Aftenblad 26. desember 2022: Kunståret 2022: Et godt år for kunsten
Klassekampen 28. desember 2022: Det beste fra kunståret
Kunstkritikk 06. januar 2023: Sett en trykk strek under navnet hennes. Ruth Asawa svarte på rasisme med universalistiske ambisjoner v/Siri Borge
Periskop 06. januar 2023: Stavanger kunstmuseum: Et unikt skulpturunivers v/Arnhild Sunnanå
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Milk Carton Sculptures and Great Circle made by pupils in Stavanger:
The Installation grew during the exhibition period and was part of the exhibition Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe
Art Is Doing - Conference themed on art and children’s and young people’s creative learning:
The Conference was held in Stavanger on the 27th October 2022