Eli Ruhala is an artist currently pursuing his MFA at Texas Christian University. As an artist drawing from an array of personal and collective experiences, Ruhala’s practice finds catharsis in repetitive gestures of love. Growing up queer in the rural south Ruhala never felt he had the ability to use his words to communicate effectively and his hands took the role of speaking. With a stepdad who is a general contractor and a mother who is a hairdresser, Ruhala is interested in the ability to carve out a new sphere where the mutual action of keeping our hands busy persists. In this way, every piece is a conversation between the materials and dynamics that shaped Ruhala, such as drywall, lumber, and wax, or considering something’s relative scale and the industry standards we inherit.

The ambiguity that comes from interpreting personal content through these materials allows a viewer to experience Ruhala’s work akin to reading a piece of fiction, but the gravity of drawing from personal experience also means forced encounters or instances of reconciliation. He wants the pieces to draw upon the many complexities of relationships and view the act of making and putting together objects itself as an active (versus a passive) pursuit of love.

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