Nicholas H. Ruth is a Professor of Art at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in New York.  Ruth received a BA from Pomona College, and earned an MFA in Painting from the Meadow’s School of Art at Southern Methodist University.  His work has been included in more than 150 exhibitions nationally and internationally, and is in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, the Rockwell Museum, the Memorial Art Gallery, and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. 

Artist Statement

Signs are an integral part of how we navigate our experience.  In the realm of semiotics, a sign is the site of representation: one thing standing for others.  And, purposefully conspicuous in their placement, signs mean much more than the text that they carry. 

Awkward and beautiful, the backs of signs are supposed to keep their mouths shut.  But looking at the backs of signs, you can hear all of the weight of hauling and holding the message, and of the resistance in transmission that is the difference between what is meant and what is understood.