Ruth Ige (b. 1992, Nigeria) is a New Zealand-based painter whose intimate, evocative compositions oscillate between bodily forms and painterly abstractions. While some resemble traditional portraiture, others consist of color fields that capture a more mysterious, ethereal effect. Hands, shoulders, and faces emerge from a watery facture. “I am interested in creating images that are not easily understood,” says Ige. She considers her unique figuration, which renders her subjects featureless and inscrutable, to be a form of “veiling.” As Cameron Ah Loo-Matamua writes, Ige uses mystery “as a form of empowerment, one that allows for a portrayal of blackness that is ‘enigmatic and not expected.’” Ruth Ige holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Auckland University of Technology. Recent exhibitions include Karma, New York (2019); Artspace, Auckland (2017); the Vivian, Matakana (2018); LISTE—Art Fair Basel, Switzerland (2018); and ST PAUL St Gallery, Auckland (2019).