Ruth Speer (b. 1996, Norwich, UK) is a German-American artist working across painting and sculpture. She lives and works in Oregon, U.S.A. Speer views her work as a series of personal folktales, a combination of odd utility, scene selections and allegories of truth. She paints on wood, drawn to its texture and history as well as its ties to domesticity and sense of utility. She often builds and sources wooden interactive aspects to operate in tandem with the painting, acting as a tool to mirror the physical and tactile nature of life. Speer draws on the visual language of Western painting history and mythology, being the subjects she consumed most fervently during her homeschooled childhood, to look closely at relationships; between people, with ourselves, with our surroundings, and the objects with which we live our lives. Alongside this, Speer touches on themes of the forest, the body, God, theatre, fantasy, art and objects made for children, “let’s go play outside,” and a personal accord with things that take time.
Solo exhibitions include (Upcoming) The Village, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2026); Salon, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL, USA (2025); Godspeed, Slade School of Fine Art, London, UK (MFA Thesis Exhibition) (2024); The Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was, Minthorne Gallery, Newberg, OR (BA Thesis Exhibition) (2019).
Group exhibitions include ARCOlisboa, Chilli Arts Projects, Lisbon, Portugal (2026); Chilli Arts Projects, London, UK, (2025); All About Eve, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery London, UK (2025); Visions, Gallery Rosenfeld, London, UK (2025); 10th Anniversary Auction, Art on a Postcard, London, UK (2024); Graduate Show 2024, Bowman Sculpture, London, UK (2024); Fragments of Existence, Soho Revue, London, UK (2024); Soup, Greatorex Street, London, UK (2024); Moleskine Project, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ (2022); Animalia, Haven Gallery, Long Island, NY (2021); Unnatural Histories, Antler Gallery, Portland, OR (2020); Profiles, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2020); 8 Year Anniversary, Arch Enemy Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (2020); Dreamlore, Talon Gallery, Portland, OR (Duo Show with Edith LeBeau) (2018); Little Utopias, Talon Gallery, Portland, OR (2017); Glow, Arch Enemy Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (2017); Flower Child, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, (2017).
Awards and Grants include Shortlisted for New Contemporaries 2024 (2024); Shortlisted for Aidan Threlfall Trust Award (2024).