Eli Ruhala

Open University

January 24 – March 9, 2025

Dallas Contemporary

Open University, the inaugural DC NTX Graduate Student Program exhibition opened on 24 January 2025, curated by Matthew Higgs, Director and Chief Curator of White Columns in New York. The annual initiative, launched in August 2024, invites North Texas MFA students in their final year of graduate work to exhibit at Dallas Contemporary, after being selected by a visiting national curator. The program is aimed at advancing the early careers of emerging artists schooled in the region and fosters healthy interactions and connections between students and renowned curators. The DC NTX Graduate Student Program is funded with foundational five-year support from Ann and John McReynolds.

Elijah Ruhala is an artist based in North Texas utilizing building materials to affect the way in which we view the connotations behind them. He explores queerness in what are traditionally very conservative environments, influenced by his upbringing in rural Texas. He has received numerous scholarships and honors allowing him to pursue a BFA in painting at The Maryland Institute College of Art and received his MFA at Texas Christian University on a full-ride. In 2021 he was selected for the Turner House’s Rising Star award. He is also the recipient of grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, The Dallas Museum of Art, and other organizations which he uses to fund thought-provoking site-specific installations. For his interventions, he collaborates with non-profit community art centers such as The Center for Contemporary Art in Abilene, Art League Houston, and Arts Fort Worth to engage with different communities. He has been featured in New American Paintings, Southwest Contemporary, and other publications. Recently Ruhala was selected by Matthew Higgs to participate in “Open University” at the Dallas Contemporary where he was also named the inaugural recipient of the McReynolds prize.