Exuberant Gourmand I Collage

Noted for powerfully blending images, text and pieces from nature into works with larger than life sentiments, Ruth Kalla Ungerer views her work as the window she opens to her feelings and values. Her printmaking draws upon centuries-old printmaking techniques as she pushes the envelope to create contemporary images, mostly focused on the human form. Ungerer employs a range of traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques, including lithography, engraving, drypoint, etching, using a variety of resists (including egg whites and Sharpies), aquatint, sugarlift, spitbite and others. The deft pressure of the press and distinctive qualities of papers used add to the diversity of line and texture she achieves. The results often are playful and provocative, resonating with or surprising the observer. Commenting on her work, Kalla Ungerer stated, "My passion is to transform observations of people and places into works that elevate nuances discovered and perceived. In today’s complex world, exploring the limitless possibilities of art and printmaking in particular, affords me an opportunity to seek and realize personal significance. My joy is in reimagining the obvious as well as the obscure. I delight in incorporating drawn and found images with print, painting and drawing into personal statements on our culture, the good and the bad. I seek to achieve results that are provocative yet sensitive to the wonders of everyday life.”