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Ruth-Ann Thorn

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Ruth Ann Thorn
BornSan Francisco
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Art director, collector, philanthropist
Years active1998

Ruth-Ann Thorn is a Luiseño gallerist, art collector, art curator and documentary film maker from Vista California USA. She is known for promoting the Native Americans through Art, especially the Luisenos.

Early life and education

Thorn was born in San Francisco California to Henry Rodriguez (Native American Luiseno) who was a part of the American Indian Movement participating in the peaceful Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, and Gloria Lee (Chinese and Dutch), an artist and women right activist, and they met in San Francisco during the Indian Relocation Act. When she was five her family moved to Portland and back to San Diego when she was twelve. She started working in restaurant business in her early 20s and admitted in Palomar College where she studied theater and art. She took admission in University of Hawaii for higher studies and worked at Hyatt Regency hotel in the Waikiki Beach area where she worked for five years.

Career

Thorn worked at Images International, one of the prestigious art galleries at Hawaii which went out of business during recession of 1990s.  When the company went out of business she thought of setting up her own art gallery, and started selling arts in meeting rooms of hotels loaded in a U-haul trailer. In 1998 Ruth-Ann Thorn and her mother Gloria Lee founded a gallery, EC Gallery.

Before the inception of EC Gallery, Thorn worked at an art gallery, Images International of Hawaii, in Hyatt Regency hotel in the Waikiki Beach area and this inspired Thorn to open her own Art Gallery. After spending 5 years at Images she wanted to open her own art gallery but couldn't open because she was refused a loan from the bank.  In 1998 she opened her first art gallery in La Jolla and closed that and opened one at Fashion Valley in San Diego. In 2002 she opened Crown Thorn Publishing representing unknown artists and bringing them to market. Thereafter she opened several art galleries in different cities of the USA. She opened a 5,000 sq ft gallery in Solana Beach in November 2018.

She has been working with the Tribal Council and Cultural Committee for presenting the cultural and historical aspects of the tribes through art. For this purpose, she is currently building an art gallery devoted entirely to Native American artists. She has worked with Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and other tribal administrations. Currently she is the Chairwoman of Rincon Economic Development Corporation. In April 2022 she organized an event, "This is Indian Country", featuring the work of Native American Artists to promote the local culture, arts and artists. Seven Artists were chosen for this event.

She co-founded Imprint, a blockchain-based art security registry, to protect Native American art from fraud and in collaboration with Southwestern Association of Indian Arts (SWAIA) supplied 800 Native American artists with permanently certified Imprint digital title to their artwork .

Represented artists

Thorn picks unknown artists for EC Gallery and brings them to the attention of collectors. She brought Michael Flohr, Henry Asencio, Christopher M,  and Michael Summers to the attention of art collectors and they are now internationally acclaimed artists. Thorn helped in bringing Asencio to the limelight when he was almost homeless.

Art of the City

She has developed a YouTube channel, "Art of the City" where she airs the art shows and documentaries for which she will travel to different localities. Since inception Thorn had spread the location of EC Gallery to different localities of USA, now she will bring artist from different regions and plans to host two shows; “Winter Wonderland” in January and “Hearts and Flowers” in February.

Thorn started a documentary series, “Art of the City” in 2019 aimed at helping people understand that an art is not just a piece of art, it has a whole story of life experience of the artist. Locale and art are interconnected, and without knowing the locale we can’t understand the theme of the art.  When patrons know the artist personally they’ll be able to understand the art in a better way.

For this, she has been traveling across the United States interviewing those artists who have resided in a specific city for more than 25 years. In Santa Fe she interviewed Roxanne Swentzell, George Rivera, Raymond Nordwall, and Nocona Burgess. In San Diego, she interviewed prominent artists from diverse backgrounds; James Hubbell, Victor Ochoa, Michael Flohr, and Gloria Lee. In New Orleans, she interviewed Willie Birch, Michael Guidry, Molly Maguire “Magwire”, James Michalopoulos, and Brandon “B-Mike” Odums.”

This is Indian Country

Thorn’s new documentary TV series, "This is Indian Country" premiered on FNX in November 2022 featuring modern native Americans, creating in various genres, including art music, culinary arts, dance, comedy, and other creative disciplines

Awards and recognitions

  • 2022 - Thorn was featured as "The Fashion 2022 Issue" by Native Max Magazine.
  • 2019 - Thorn worn The American Art Award (AAA) for her gallery, Exclusive Collection Gallery.
  • 2015 - Thorn won The American Art Awards (AAA) for her gallery, Exclusive Collection Gallery.

References

  1. ^ Mapp, Lauren J. (2022-09-26). "Rincon entrepreneur tells diverse stories of Indigenous community through two TV series". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  2. ^ "Ruth-Ann Thorn Makes Her Mark With Opening of Newest Gallery". Fine Art Magazine Online. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  3. "Ruth-Ann Thorn – a life in the world of art". www.valleycenter.com. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  4. "Established gallery finds new home in Solana Beach". The Coast News Group. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  5. "Meet Ruth-Ann Thorn of Exclusive Collections". SDVoyager. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  6. ^ San Diego Magazine. USA: CurtCo/SDM LLC. 2008. p. 81.
  7. "Crown Thorn Publishing Brings Young Masters to the Art Community". Issuu. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  8. San Diego Magazine. USA: CurtCo/SDM LLC. 2008. p. 179.
  9. "Family Business: EC Gallery -". McKinnon Broadcasting. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  10. Papadatos, Markos (2020-11-25). "Chatting with Ruth-Ann Thorn: Gallerist and documentary producer (Includes interview)". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  11. "Native Business Magazine - July/August 2019". Issuu. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  12. Quach, Hoa (2020-03-12). "Solana Beach business owner celebrates 25 years in art industry". The Coast News Group. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  13. "Solana Beach Gallery Hosts Showcase Featuring Renowned Native American Artists". Times of San Diego. 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  14. "Solana Beach Gallery Hosts Showcase Featuring Renowned Native American Artists". San Diego, CA Patch. 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  15. "2022 Women of Accomplishment, San Diego Metro Magazine". SD METRO. 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  16. "Native American News Roundup, August 21-27, 2022". VOA. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  17. "Imprint, SWAIA partner to combat counterfeit Native American art with launch of new digital art registry". cherokeephoenix.org. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  18. "The Brushstrokes of Contemporary Artist Henry Asencio". Upscale Living Magazine. 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  19. "ANGE December 2014 Page 110". digital.modernluxury.com. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  20. Woolsey, Brittany (13 November 2018). "EC Gallery relocates to Solana Beach". delmartimes.net. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  21. "Fine Art Magazine December 2018 preview". Issuu. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  22. "Ruth-Ann Thorn presents ART OF THE CITY". Issuu. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  23. "Art of the City with Ruth-Ann Thorn | Art Business News". 28 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  24. "Ruth-Ann Thorn presents ART OF THE CITY". Issuu. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  25. "Welcome to the Fashion 2022 Issue featuring Seriously Stylish Serial Entrepreneur Ruth-Ann Thorn on the Cover". Native Max. 2022-09-19. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  26. "Exclusive Collections Gallery Named Best Gallery In California And One Of American Art Awards' Top 25". Highlight Hollywood. 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  27. Bierdz, Thom (2019-04-20). "What Is The Best Art Gallery In California?". Medium. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  28. "Exclusive Collections Gallery Named Best Gallery In Nevada, 2015, Highlight Hollywood News". Highlight Hollywood. 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2019-02-15.

External links

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