Concrete w/ Ruth Cleland: 27th June, 2025

Concrete is Ruth Cleland’s second solo exhibition of new and previously unexhibited works, currently on at Sumer Gallery.

Cleland is known for her photorealistic depictions of everyday subjects and scenes, with this exhibition exploring concrete flooring in locations and sites she regularly encounters. The works are more than representations of concrete, but a collection representative of equanimity, eliciting a state of quietude within the viewer.

This body of work shows a subtle but significant development in Cleland’s practice, whereby more emphasis has been placed on the interrelationship between her gridded paintings and photorealistic concrete floor depictions, and how they respond to one another. As in previous works, this exhibition continues Cleland’s ‘sustained inquiry into image and grid—of subject, time, and value—as she traverses the hyperreal and abstract.’

Sofia had a kōrero with Ruth about Concrete, as well as her practice and process more generally.