“Being in sync with our feelings equips us to make more authentic and fulfilling decisions.”

- Renata Rush

Artist Statement

My work represents the courage to pursue what feels true and reconnect with what matters most. I use vibrant warm colors and texture, inspired by my early life in Brazil, to provoke buried emotions.

My paintings often feature shapes that resemble large leaves, colorful flowers, water, and sunlight. My subjects either emerge from abstracted background, breaking away from it, or stand apart as observers, contemplating their journey. They evoke a sense of longing, progress, or quiet reflection, exploring the tension between aspiration and reality.

These narratives guide my process. I use mixed media materials to tell a story, beginning with spontaneous use of color, marks, and texture to initiate a dialogue. Experimenting with multiple layers, I retain what feels visually compelling, building on it with new forms and details to create cohesion and depth. Through my art, I aim to reflect life itself—a progression where disorder evolves into meaning and transformation reveals possibilities.

My hope is to inspire others to trust their intuition, reflect on their aspirations, and find beauty in the courage to live authentically.

BIO

Renata Rush is a Brazilian-American painter whose abstract works blend bold storytelling with emotional depth. Drawing inspiration from Abstract Expressionism and Symbolism, her art combines representational forms and abstraction to explore themes of transformation, resilience, and self-discovery.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Renata’s work is shaped by memories of the city’s natural beauty and modernist architecture, particularly the landscape designs of Roberto Burle Marx. Organic shapes, large leaves, jungle-like atmospheres, and cascading waterfalls are recurring motifs, evoking Brazil’s vibrant landscapes. Birds, flowers, and flowing scribbles add movement and freedom, symbolizing emotional flow and transformation.

Balancing her artistic pursuits with a corporate engineering career, Renata explored various creative outlets before finding her voice in painting. This period of self-discovery demanded resilience, patience, and courage—qualities now central to her practice. Beginning in 2013, she honed her skills, eventually graduating from Milan Art Institute in 2024. That same year, she made the bold decision to leave her engineering career and fully dedicate herself to art, embodying the themes of authenticity and transformation in her work.

From her light-filled studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan, overlooking a serene pond, Renata’s process begins with play and intuition. Layer by layer, she builds dynamic compositions where colors, marks, and textures guide a dialogue. Her work balances vibrant energy with quiet depth, inviting viewers to connect on a visceral level.

Renata’s art reflects life’s complexity—ever-evolving, full of challenges and unexpected beauty. Through her work, she seeks to spark a gut-level connection, encouraging viewers to embrace their aspirations and move forward with dreams they’ve postponed. Her art is a celebration of courage, transformation, and living authentically.

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