'Crystal Castles' at Chrissie Cotter Gallery

Thursday 17 June 2021

A mixed media solo body of work, Crystal Castles, is the latest to feature at Inner West Council’s Chrissie Cotter Gallery.

Ariel Ruby is an emerging artist and freelance designer based between Sydney and Hobart.

Her work explores fluid boundaries: reality and fantasy, liquidity and plasticity, in an ecological and technological context.

She does this through a variety of mediums including video, photography and sculpture.

“The exhibition is an immersive dystopian fairy tale, where beauty and the grotesque are indistinct,” Ariel said.

“In what may seem a utopia, on closer inspection, cracks start to appear in the glossy surface,” she said.

“These themes and more are explored in an overtly kitsch way, leaving a sense of unease.”

Crystal Castles is Ariel’s first solo exhibition in Sydney, after returning to the Inner West after several years interstate studying and developing her practice.

“I was a Newtown High School kid and have a deep affection to the local area,” she said.

“The Chrissie Cotter Gallery is an ideal location for me to reach a broader audience in a place I feel connected to and have not previously had the opportunity or means to exhibit in.”

Crystal Castles is at Chrissie Cotter Gallery, Pidcock Street Camperdown.

Opening Wednesday 23 June, 5.30pm. On show until Monday 5 July.

Gallery opening hours: Thursday - Sunday, 11am - 4pm.

For more information, a print quality image or an interview with the artist, contact Ariel Ruby at 0431 584 662 or arielmariaruby@gmail.com

Instagram @arielruby / website: https://www.arielruby.com / vimeo: https://vimeo.com/arielruby

For media enquiries, contact Elizabeth Heath, Media and Communications Coordinator, 9392 5334 or Elizabeth.Heath@innerwest.nsw.gov.au