About — Lillianne Ruiz Studio

Why?

I want to challenge preconceived ideas of happiness, where dreamscapes confront the real world through the imaginary. The dual contrasts of nature are combined with the beauty of interconnected life, a search for meaning and balance among different realities and perspectives in our world.

Art is a record of a moment in time, a reflection of our world from different perspectives and an expression of oneself. A confrontation of the real world through the imaginary. A moment to pause, observe and listen, in order to realize there is much more to discover, an awakening. In a way, my works reflect different moments, by referencing diverse gathered points of view and ideas as reflected through alternate realities.

For those of you willing to look further, life is complex and nothing is what it initially seems. Duality is woven into the very fabric of life for a reason. You cannot fully understand one side of the dual nature of life without comparing and understanding its opposing side. How can you know light without knowing dark? I want to highlight and challenge people’s perspectives using a positive channel to counteract the negativity that surrounds many of us.

Despite our own individual realities, I tend to focus on life’s more positive aspects. So even when the theme that needs to be addressed is a current challenge our world is facing, I will address it by focusing on its positive opposite. At the very least, there should be a way to communicate the subject matter with a hint of hope. It is with this understanding, that you may choose to approach my work.

How?

There is a lot of study that goes behind the scenes. Different sketches and collages are initially produced digitally. However, I create my paintings in the “traditional” fashion mostly using oil, acrylic, sandpaper, and pencils.

I usually paint several canvases at the same time. Each with their own digitally produced sketch. I go back and fourth between the canvas and my computer until I produce the desired effect.

Several of my canvases have more random beginnings. This is because I use stretched canvases as my palettes. This is one of the ways I try to be more ecological in my work. By cleaning my brushes on different canvases and using others as palettes: I avoid waste, prevent paint and other materials from ending up in our trash and water system, as well as create some very interesting backgrounds for some of my paintings.

What? When? Where?

My dreamscapes are a study of the relationship between the pursuit of happiness, our interaction with nature, and our interdependence with the world around us.

I face reality through the imaginary, taking advantage of multiple references, often nostalgic, from history and the present.

The beauty of nature meets the beauty of interconnected life, reflecting our world and our interdependence. I reflect my love for nature, not just from my home, but with elements of memories and my imagination. It is a world that plays with opposites and contradictions, thriving on duality, but in a constant search for balance.

Dreams are pursued in idealized places using a positive channel to counteract the negativity that surrounds many of us. As in our life, there are many open questions about our present and the future that is coming.

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“A quick look at the work of Lillianne Ruiz Truque reveals dreamlike landscapes with which the artist immerses us in worlds of fantasy and surrealism discovering scenes full of magical life forms. However, a deeper look reveals a great melancholy, missing that which never was, for the realities and futures that did not exist beyond a painfully broken illusion.”

– Iris Lam Chen

Cultural Manager Global Metro Art

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Contact

lillyruiz@hotmail.com
(506) 8340-3827

“Art is an adventure. You never know where or when you will end up”

— Lillianne Ruiz

“I want for my work to enhance the dualities & pluralities of life, while not neglecting the games we play with time .  My wish is that my eclectic mix of appropriations, techniques, moments and concepts may also highlight the interdependence of our world ”.

Lillianne (Lilly) Ruiz Truque (b. 1977 in Fairfax, VA , Costa Rica & US citizen) is an interdisciplinary contemporary visual artist and environmentalist. She is of Costa Rican and American nationality. Her artistic training has been outside the academy with artists such as Max Rojas, John Juric, Marijose Terán, Guillermo Tovar and Guido Chinchilla. She has a bachelor's degree in International Administration (American University, Washington DC) and a diploma in Art History.

Her dreamscapes confront the real world through the imaginary and are a reflection seen through multiple perspectives where nature stars as a symbol of life. With the use of color and metaphor in flora and fauna, she seeks to question and challenge the concepts of happiness, vulnerability, and its relationship to life and nature. Her compositions accentuate dreamlike atmospheres, through a messy and melancholic nature. They create a dialogue about the plurality of life, our interdependence and a search for a balance.

She stands out through her promise to communicate in a hopeful way. Her work can also be read through an environmental lense, values that have grown with maternity and her desire to protect the inheritance that we are leaving for future generations.

Participating with the first art work created for her Happiness project, Lillianne was among the 42 artists selected for the 2019 Salón Nacional in the National Art Museum, San José, Costa Rica. She was also invited to represent Costa Rica during Art All Night, Washington D.C. in 2016 at the Embassy of Costa Rica. In 2020, her works titled “Covid” (a painting and an Installation / interactive performance) participated in the VI Annual ACAV Exhibition “Appropriations in Art” at the Municipal Museum of Cartago.

Lillianne has participated in numerous solo and group exhibits throughout Costa Rica, the United States and other international venues. She is an active member of the Art & Culture Committee of CRCC (2022-present) , an ACAV (Asociación Costarricense de Artistas Visuales) active Member, and was part of its board between 2012-2013.

For a complete CV, please click here.

For discussions, commissions, or exhibitions (national or international), please:

Send me a DM through Instagram: @lillianne_ruiz_studio
Call, text or What’s up me at (506) 8340-3827 (if calling outside of Costa Rica you may need to add your country’s international calling code)
Or send an email at lillyruiz@hotmail.com (The form above should ensure emails reach my inbox and not my junk mail box. However, due to the higher chance of lost emails, Email is my least preferred method of communication ).