The portrait work of artist Paul Rusconi is on display through April 30 in a special exhibition at the University of Alabama. Organized by the UAB College of Arts and Sciences’ Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, Paul Rusconi: Emanations highlights portraits of influential contemporary artists such as Ed Ruscha, Agnes Martin, Chuck Close and John Baldessari. Among the notable works is Untitled (Bill), a diptych featuring the video artist Bill Viola.
Rusconi’s portraits are part of significant public and private collections, including The Carnegie Art Museum and holdings at The White House. His distinctive method uses nail polish applied to Plexiglas in varied dotted patterns that echo the visual effect of Roy Lichtenstein’s Ben-Day dots, producing finely textured, luminous surfaces that resolve into portraits from a distance.
The exhibition space itself is notable: the 26,000-square-foot venue was designed by architect Randall Stout, who trained with Frank Gehry and became known for sculptural, light-filled cultural buildings. The gallery’s architecture complements Rusconi’s work, enhancing the interplay of light and surface that is central to these pieces.
Paul Rusconi: Emanations offers visitors a focused survey of the artist’s portraiture, showing how material, scale and technique combine to reinterpret the faces of prominent figures in contemporary art. The show provides an opportunity to study both the intimate detail of individual portraits and the larger visual strategies Rusconi uses to transform commonplace materials into compelling, painterly images.
Visitors are encouraged to take time with each work, observing how the dotted patterns and translucent layers create shifting effects as viewing distance and light change. The exhibition situates Rusconi’s practice within broader conversations about portraiture, material innovation and the legacy of pop and conceptual art in the work of contemporary painters.