Renee Gertler

Roll Up Project is pleased to present recent work by Renee Gertler. Through sculptures, works on paper, and paintings, Gertler investigates metaphysical and psychological states of being.

About ten years ago, Gertler moved into a studio once owned by legendary Bay Area artist Viola Frey. In addition to feeling a kinship with Frey’s sculptures, she felt the resonances of Frey’s spirit in the building. Friends and colleagues who visited often shared advice Frey had given to them as students at CCAC, and one day, Gertler started intuiting short messages that felt like guidance from another world. Phrases like “just wait” and “keep working” guided her through challenges in the studio, and propelled her to find new solutions in her work.

Gertler’s sculptures, such as Nine Moons (2024), feature striking matte ultramarine surfaces and areas of densely packed silver bugle beads. In her studio the beads reflect sunlight from the windows, turning plain white walls into shifting, glimmering surfaces. While some may link the painted surface of the sculptures to Yves Klein’s International Klein Blue, Gertler associates it with the Delft Blue of her Dutch mother’s pottery collection. One might also consider the metamorphic properties of ultramarine itself, which is derived from lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli forms when heat and pressure transform a rock’s crystal structure, permanently altering its appearance from one type of rock to another. Gertler’s process in the studio mirrors this alchemical metamorphosis. As an artist, she is open to the intangible forces that surround us, from natural phenomena like gravity to emotional ones like grief and devotion, with the understanding that something more beautiful may result from the intense experiences of life. Gertler distills, translates, and underscores the possibilities and potential outcomes of pressure and time. The angles and edges of her sculptures are softened, as if chipped away by wind or smoothed by running water.

Gertler’s works on paper are centered on her study of Cymatics, which translates sound vibrations into a visual format. She first learned about Cymatics as an intern at the Exploratorium in the late 1990s, where visitors can experiment with sound waves and sand. Drawings such as Transmission (2025) use both color and repetition to create harmonic representations of the auditory world around us. With no sound to hear, viewers can still sense the rumble of a drum or the echo of a bell.

At its core, Gertler’s work is about visualizing the invisible elements in our world. From sound vibrations to emotional resonances, these sculptures and works on paper encourage the viewer to carefully consider how each sensory power operates, and how to be open to things beyond our immediate knowledge.

About the Artist

Renée Gertler was born in Santa Barbara, California. Her drawings and sculptures explore ideas around metaphysical, psychological and emotional landscapes. She holds a BFA and MFA in Sculpture from The California College of Arts. She studied landscape architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate Studies of Design. Her sculptures and installations have been exhibited at Southern Exposure, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, Et. al, Anglim Trimble, MarinMOCA and K. Imperial Fine Art. She has been awarded a Danish Arts Council Grant and artist residencies at the John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry program, Spaces (Cleveland, OH), Vermont Studio Center, Pilchuck School of Glass Emerging Artists Fellowship, The Macdowell Colony, and Kala Art Institute.

Learn more about Renee Gertler’s work at her website or on Instagram.