BALTIMORE, MD - C. Grimaldis Gallery is pleased to present Vestiges of Time: Traces in Light and Materials, a solo exhibition by John Ruppert. This body of work integrates photography and cast sculptures that act as testaments to earthly forms and phenomena, and anchor the physical records of time they bear into the present. Ruppert’s juxtaposition of material and man-made forms investigates human intervention, providing the viewer with a balance between earth’s creativity and man’s effort to celebrate the naturally sublime.

In his Olea Europaea series, Ruppert photographs trees from the olive groves of Puglia, Italy. Through digital manipulation, Ruppert creates composites of multiple photographs to build layers of detail otherwise lost to the limitations of focal length, concentrating in some areas while blowing out negative space in others. The resulting portraits are delicate and ghostly, guiding our attention over the sculptural bodies of these ancient trees as well as the contemporary irrigation systems that keep them alive. Their forms are gnarled and twisted by time, bringing focus to the impact of man and the elements over the course of centuries.

Ruppert’s photography is a clear extension from his sculptural practice, where he explores how technology can be used to bare witness to the vital essence of something natural. In his Berg series, almost exact replicas of stone and rock are made through aluminum casting -- displayed with its sister beside it, each luminous silvery form highlights textures forged by the earth. Similarly, his Rock Reflections use digital scanning and 3D printing to create mirrored duplicates of rocks with resin, forming uncanny reflections that question our sense of reality. Ruppert’s Strikes harness the beauty and power of phenomena by casting fragmentations of tree bark splintered by the force of a lightning strike. Aluminum shards are restructured to create monuments to these remnants of life.

John Ruppert has exhibited widely at institutions in the US and abroad with works in numerous public and private collections including The Academy Art Museum, Kreeger Museum, OMI International Sculpture Park, and Decordova Museum. He has participated in several artists in residency programs and has received numerous awards including 5 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist grants, the Mary Sawyers Baker Award, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award. He was also a recent participant in the 2024 Venice Biennale. John Ruppert is Professor Emeritus and served as Chair of the Department of Art, for 13 years at the University of Maryland, College Park, has been on their faculty since 1987. This is his seventh solo exhibition at C. Grimaldis Gallery.