Global perspective Human stories

UN nuclear agency meetings inspire American artist

UN nuclear agency meetings inspire American artist

A Moment Passing, 2008, acrylic on canvas, painting by Lisa Ruyter
Many artists draw inspiration in nature, but the latest works of American painter Lisa Ruyter have been impelled in an unlikely place: the meetings of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governor’s meetings.

Many artists draw inspiration in nature, but the latest works of American painter Lisa Ruyter have been impelled in an unlikely place: the meetings of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governor’s meetings.

Granted access to these gatherings as a journalist, Ms. Ruyter was able to observe the action and take photographs, which she used as a blueprint for her series entitled “Atoms for Peace.”

Using bright shades and cool tones, her technique is similar to fellow American artist Andy Warhol’s.

Currently, 17 paintings from the series – which has transformed seemingly normal images of IAEA Board of Governor’s meetings into extraordinary artwork – are on display at the Georg Kargl Fine Arts Gallery in Vienna, Austria.

“What at first appear simple but giant paint-by-number works slowly reveal themselves to be complex arrangements of flat colours with poignant, powerful subject matter,” the Gallery said in a press release.