Rush Baker IV

Rush Baker IV is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He holds a BFA from The Cooper Union and an MFA from Yale University, where he received notable awards for excellence in painting.

• BFA, The Cooper Union (2009), Jack Stewart Memorial Prize for Excellence in Painting
• MFA, Yale University (2012), Elizabeth Canfield Hicks Award

His artistic practice explores abstraction as a means to interrogate the tension between destruction and reconstruction, often engaging with cultural, historical, and social contexts. His recent articles highlight themes such as archival research, political representation, and urgent abstraction.

Rush has been recognized with the Grant Wood Art Fellowship (2024) and was a finalist for the Artsy Foundations Prize (2024) and Trawick Prize (2023). His awards include distinguished honors from Yale and Cooper Union.

As an educator, he emphasizes collaborative, student-centered learning and experimental approaches to traditional media. His exhibitions have occurred nationally and internationally, including solo shows at Future Gallery (Berlin), Scaramouche Gallery (NYC), and HEMPHILL Artworks (DC).