SOMA Magazine SOMA Fall Fashion Issue Oct 15 | Page 40

Feature

Rethink, Reuse, Revamp

The Deconstructed Art of Orly Ruaimi
TEXT BY NOELANI PITERS
PHOTOGRAPH BY TINA MALIGA

When you look at the work of San Francisco-based artist Orly
Ruaimi, you would never guess that the forty-two-year-old
started out in finance. That career path didn’t pan out, and
it’s easy to see why: Ruaimi’s jewelry and sculptures seem to
effortlessly emerge from the ruins of some futuristic city. Her
paintings vibrate with a similar intensity, abstract visions of
vibrant textures that overlap and intersect and diffuse. Necklaces
of shiny tangled pipes; laser cut earrings that ripple and splatter;
a steel mesh handbag sculpture almost too heavy to move. This
is Ruaimi’s reality and oeuvre.
With an MFA in Jewelry and Metal Arts from Academy of Art
University and a second MFA in Sculpture from San Francisco
Art Institute in progress, Ruaimi has discovered her creative
niche. Found industrial objects with colorful pops define her
aesthetic, and her jewelry and sculpture explore the ethical
implications of repurposed materials. Ruaimi has also ventured into the technological realm, collaborating with the Silicon
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Valley-based company Kovio. She designed Oroglass plastic
accessories that incorporated Kovio’s wireless communication
tags, which transfer data between two devices when touched or
in proximity. After that project ended, she continued to experiment with wearable art pieces that could encase the technology.
Her Cyborg collection, the product of those efforts, examines
how the digital and material worlds collide and can, ultimately,
function together.
Ruaimi’s latest solo show, “Free Yourself Be Fearless,” features five steel sculptures and five two-dimensional wall pieces.
It also includes some previous works from past collections,
exhibiting Ruaimi’s artistic range. The exhibition opens October
1st at The Cannery Galleries in Suite 108, located in the bustling
Fisherman’s Wharf district. Through intricate, deconstructed
designs, Ruaimi seeks to expose what lies beneath the surface,
and here she shares her insights and processes with SOMA.