Rebecca Rutstein inaugurates major solo retrospective at the Berman Museum
The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art Presents Universal Nature: A Major Mid-Career Survey of Rebecca Rutstein
The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College is proud to present Universal Nature, the most comprehensive solo exhibition to date of Philadelphia-based artist Rebecca Rutstein. This mid-career survey brings together large-scale paintings, sculpture, video, textile, and new works inspired by scientific expeditions at sea and in the Arctic, offering an expansive view of Rutstein’s multidisciplinary practice over the past five to ten years.
Rutstein’s practice brings together art and science to reveal the dynamic systems that shape our world, drawing on collaborations with researchers and firsthand expedition work to translate phenomena such as ocean circulation, microbial life, and elemental cycles into immersive visual forms. Through these works, Universal Nature invites a deeper understanding of our interconnected planet and humanity’s place within it.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication highlighting the last 10-15 years of Rustein’s career, featuring a newly commissioned essay by art historian Laura Turner Igoe, the Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Chief Curator at the Michener Art Museum; an interview with Philadelphia gallerist Bridgette Mayer; and an introduction by National Magazine Award-winning journalist Susan Casey. This will be the first monograph to feature Rutstein’s work, creating new scholarship and bringing broader visibility to the artist and her multidisciplinary practice.
THE PHILIP AND MURIEL BERMAN MUSEUM OF ART
URSINUS COLLEGE
Rebecca Rutstein’s Universal Nature
June 16 – November 24, 2026
SAVE THE DATE
Opening Reception & Artist Talk
Thursday, Sept 17, 6-8pm
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