Meet the Artist: Jacqueline Rudolph

Santa Fe artist and activist Jacqueline Rudolph has an interesting story as a contemporary impressionist artist and sculptor. Her experience as a native New Mexican has influenced her work and vision. As one of the upcoming Art Santa Fe exhibitors, we wanted to learn more about her and her recently developed foundation.

ABN: Who are you and what is your vision as an artist?

JR: I am Jacqueline Rudolph, an emerging Artivist (Artist Activist) who creates contemporary modern impressionist portraits, figurative sculpture, and Activist Apparel (“Art Wear”). My experience as a native New Mexican, my travels, along with interests in cultural anthropology, performing arts, visual arts, and design has influenced my work and vision. Politically and socially, the universal fight for our values and rights has played an important role in my evolution as an Artivist.

My vision as an Artivist is to create a global awareness of the beauty our world’s magnificent collective cultures and identities through art that empowers. I want my art to have a unique ability to transform all who experience it to a greater awareness that focuses on the commonalities we share as a people. My mission is to bridge art and activism. I strive to inspire people of all ages and ethnicities to embrace the diverse cultures of the world, ignite social and political awareness, and to get involved and make a difference.

ABN: What is your background?

JR: My passion for the arts has always been a part of my life. I’ve work in the art industry for over a decade, including gallery management, non-profit arts organizations like the Lensic Performing Arts Center, and opening and operation of my studios.

As Community Relations Director for the Lensic Performing Arts Center I am most proud of the creation of The Lensic Performing Arts Youth Program. This state program entailed coordinating with the Santa Fe and surrounding area school districts to bus elementary and high school students to the Lensic to experience daytime performances like the opera, symphony, plays, musical performances, cultural events, and the ballet.

I extended the program to include a visual art element. This was such a gratifying task to curate an art exhibit for the schools. I displayed artwork from elementary to high school students from Santa Fe and the surrounding areas. But one moment struck me the most — a second grade boy from a rural area school district dressed in a suit and tie, his hair slicked back, walked with his parents into the lobby of the theater where the exhibition was set up. He spotted his painting displayed on the wall and was so excited and proud, he shook my hand, we introduced ourselves and he said thank you. The look on his face was unforgettable, especially when the crowd of people would stop to look at his artwork and congratulate him. This really made an impression on him as it did on me. I realized at that moment the impact of art and making art has on the ones who view it and the artist who creates it.

This was the birth of my activism. From that moment, I’ve been an advocate for art in the schools. The lack of permanent art classes in the schools is unfortunate because I believe strongly that art creates critical thinkers. Since being at the Lensic, I’ve been blessed to be able to work on my art full-time and have continued to mentored students along with my grandkids, nieces, and nephews throughout the years.

ABN: What is Your philosophy and how does that impact your work?

JR: My work has become my passion, voice, and dialogue with self. When I paint and sculpt it fills me with a sense of contentment and integrity that has proven to serve as a vessel for translating the anatomy of spirit to an empowering awareness. I draw inspiration from the strength and resilience of the human form and landscape of the face. I create from the inside out. Though I work deliberately and consciously using traditional as well as innovative techniques and methods, my subconscious is ultimately my guide.

I like to think of my work as a fusion of art and activism. I use my creative skills and messaging to address social and political issues. My intent is to move people emotionally, appeal to their imagination, and stimulate important dialogue about social and political issues.

ABN: What artist(s) inspire you?

JR: I work in a variety of mediums which includes bronze sculpture and impressionist portrait mixed media paintings. I’m inspired by Frida Kahlo, who was an activist for social and political justice and her art reflected who she was. Her tenacious spirit served her well in both art and activism. I’m inspired by activist artist Shepard Fairy’s business model and his vibrant street art style. His work is a commentary on social and political issues as well. Andy Warhol inspires me with his pop art style portrait series of celebrities. He was such an icon himself. The sculpture of Richard MacDonald is inspirational. He is a master of the anatomy of the body and his figurative sculptures capture the strength and grace of moment.

I use the face and the human form as subject matter to convey a provocative experience of self-discovery. From my earlier to current bodies of work, the theme of empowered spirit remains consistent. The goal of my work is to embody a majestic beauty that emanates from vulnerability, courage, and strength of grace.

ABN: What is the best advice you’ve received?

JR: The best advice I’ve ever received was from my grandmother: be patient, be true to yourself, and trust the timing. This has helped me with the integrity of my work. I don’t create art just so it will sell, I paint from within; then I let it go into the world with the trust it will find its own significance.

ABN: When you are not working, where can we find you?

JR: When I’m not working in my studio, I am at my local coffee shop journaling, or recording creative content podcasts with my son, Kurtis, on political and social issues. I find that journaling is important to my creative process. It helps me organize my thoughts and emotions which reflect in my work. The podcast is a tool I use to express my activism.

ABN: What have you done recently that enhanced you as an artist?

JR: I recently started an ongoing series of impressionist portraits of iconic women who have experienced or are fighting the plight of breast cancer. The series is titled Women Warriors, The Power of Warrior. This plight is about life, the battle to live and at the same time the enhancement of living. These portrayals are meant to bring light to the graciousness and purposefulness of taking space in one’s lifetime to celebrate and appreciate being alive. This series was created specifically for a breast cancer clinic in Santa Fe. They serve as a platform to celebrate these brave warriors who have earned their warrior status by taking an adverse situation and transforming it to the power of warrior.

I believe the Power of Warrior is about the power of the feminine itself. It’s about self-worth, purpose, and the responsibility of leadership. This is primarily a women’s disease, and these paintings are about how women see themselves and their value and embrace the opportunity to educate and inspire others. The brave women I have chosen to paint, along with their published statements, were intended to represent the scope of the disease and the individual choices and battles each of them experienced.

The style and techniques I chose to portray these heroic women was inspired by street art. I work from small to large scale acrylic on canvas, applying a stencil-style portrait which serves as a simplistic interpretation of the subjects’ unique features. The texturing pattern of the canvas comes through in the portrait, creating an ethereal translucent effect representing one’s connection to the life source. The portraits are strategically placed, overlapping a gold gesso square honoring the subject, and representing infinite possibilities. These brave women warriors deserve such a presence to inspire, inform and express the Power of Warrior.

This series has enhanced me as an artist because this work has shown its significance in an activism way. It has evolved into a powerful project, The Women Warriors Project. I was told by several people, especially patients who have seen the series, that they are uplifting and inspiring. And one entrepreneur who became a business partner, believed these paintings belong in every breast cancer clinic in the country.

Toward the goal of making this series live in all breast cancer centers, we formed Artemis Art Management Inc. which is a company dedicated to managing and promoting the works of socially conscious, emerging and established activist artists. In addition, we formed the HER2 Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer and provide trained “Navigators” to help patients through the complex system of obtaining treatment.

ABN: Any plans for 2025? Where will your creative take you?

JR: My plan for 2025 is to use the vehicles and partners involved in Artemis and HER2 to market The Women Warriors Project to breast cancer clinics throughout the country. A percentage of the sales of the Women Warrior series will be donated to the HER2 Foundation to help fund the foundation’s mission. I have more series in the works and plan to work on more Artivist projects in whatever form they will be manifested.

To learn more about Jacqueline and her work, please visit her website  www.artemisartmanagement.com.

About the HER2 Foundation

The HER2 Foundation is a partnership between the artist Jacqueline Rudolph and  Anna Voltura, MD, a renowned breast surgeon who is a fellowship trained Breast Oncologist from John Hopkins and Chair of the HER2 Foundation, joined by Ava Stern, CEO, Artemis Art Management Inc., and Director of HER2 Foundation, and Joyce Bogosian, CMO, Artemis Art Management Inc., and Director of HER2 Foundation. The expertise and support of the following people have helped make the HER2 Foundation a reality: Adrienne Anderson, Web Technician and Product Designer, Kristin Mora, Web Developer and Coding Technician, and Kurtis Quintana, Real Estate Broker and Studio Manager, and Antonio Mora, Videographer.

To learn more, go to https://her2foundation.org/