Ruth L. Poor

Ruth L. Poor serves as a Lecturer in the Painting and Drawing department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), teaching Figure Drawing: Multi-Level courses (Painting and Drawing 2030) for Spring and Fall 2025. Their academic role centers on foundational drawing techniques, emphasizing gesture, form, and immediate response to the model through varied media as preparation for advanced topic-based classes.

Education:

• MFA in Painting & Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• B.A. in Studio Art and Religious Studies from Cornell College and DePauw University

Poor's research interrogates intersections of identity, power, and historical narratives through the lens of rural Midwest memories, American history, Christianity, and deviancy. Their practice dissects cultural and personal memory using painting and drawing to challenge power structures and normative frameworks, with recurring themes of religious iconography and social deviance expressed through visceral visual language.

Exhibitions include the New York Academy of Art (New York, NY), Zolla/Lieberman Gallery (Chicago, IL), Pinto International Gallery (New York, NY), ADDS DONNA Gallery (Chicago, IL), Manifest Gallery (Cincinnati, OH), Woman Made Gallery (Chicago, IL), and Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), featuring works like Lessons en Rouge (2025), Weeds (JesusSaves) (2020), and I Used to Have a Belt Like That (2011).