Geo Rutherford

Geo Rutherford creates prints, artist’s books and large-scale mixed media works focusing on environmental issues impacting the Great Lakes. She received a BFA from Eastern Michigan University and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Geo taught High School art in Chelsea, Michigan for 5 years but now is the Art Director at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, running the #WhyYouMatter non-profit, an adjunct lecturer at UWM and exhibiting work around the Midwest. Currently, she lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her dog, Padfoot.

Geo Rutherford’s work explores notions of invasiveness, impermanence, and the unseen in relation to the Great Lakes. The transparent waters are a deceptive indicator of the health of the ecosystems below the surface. With climate change, invasive species, and polluted waters, the lakes are quickly devolving into a water desert at the heart of North America. Her practice includes researching the history of the lakes, taking field notes while on visits to Lake Michigan and spending hours on the beach, observing the waters and collecting, amongst others, man-made remnants found in the sand