Iconic American designer Ralph Rucci heads to San Francisco next week to unveil a new exhibition of his latest works. "Ralph Rucci: Ascension" consists of 30 mixed media paintings on canvas created by Rucci in 2011 and 2012. Influenced by the Japanese aesthetic, Rucci's art often incorporates fabric and reflects the designer's interest in modern expressionism and minimalism.
Of his passion for both fine art and fashion Rucci says, "I discovered fashion as an artistic medium. Later in life, my trap door opened, and I found my ability as a painter — a fine artist — to be an extension of my psychiatric work. This is my future — melding the two arts."
Rucci is the first American designer in 50 years to be invited to show his designs in Paris at the prestigious Haute Couture Fashion Week. His works have been displayed in museums around the world including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moscow's Fashion Museum and Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.
Gallery owners Serge and Tatiana Sorokko will host a private reception tomorrow evening to celebrate the exhibit. "After five years of anticipation we are elated to bring Ralph's extraordinary new paintings to the gallery," explains Serge Sorokko. "In the years since his last exhibition, the world has seen the continual evolution in his exceptional fashion designs, and now we have an opportunity to see the same evolution in his pictorial work."
"Ralph Rucci- Ascension" will be on display Dec. 15- Jan 18, 2013
Serge Sorokko Gallery
55 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
