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Winston Wächter Fine Art is pleased to present Meditations in an Emergency, a solo exhibition of new work by Seattle artist Joe Rudko.
Pastel drawing has become central to Joe Rudko’s practice over the past year, marking a shift from a career rooted primarily in photography and collage. Drawing began as a quiet, early-morning routine as a mental health practice, and in this recent period, it has moved fully into the studio and into view. Working in soft layers of pastel, Rudko builds shifting fields of color that serve as a foundation for intuitive mark-making. The work offers a respite from photographic fact, moving into moods, atmosphere, and embodied sensation. It describes internal states while preserving traces of care, attention, and ever-shifting emotional weather.
"I draw from 15 years of making photographic work, as well as a strong desire to move beyond photography and its limitations. Using oil pastels has become a way to simplify my practice and take complete control of my medium, without relying on the content of found or collected photographs. Through the ritual and repetition of drawing, these works reflect meditative play, deep joy, moments of crisis, and the persistent effort to stay within myself.” – Joe Rudko
