I Call Upon the Elders by Annie Ruth

Embellished canvas with mixed media
30x40
Reproduction
 
About the Art
I Call Upon the Elders

I Call Upon the Elders honors ancestral love as a living, guiding force—one rooted in reverence, memory, and collective care. The layered faces and textured materials reflect generations standing together, reminding us that Black love is sustained through wisdom passed hand to hand and spirit to spirit. This work speaks to communal and ancestral bonds, where love is expressed through protection, counsel, and remembrance. It invites viewers to recognize Black love as intergenerational, sacred, and essential to our survival and joy.

About the Artist
Annie Ruth is a Cincinnati-based visual artist, poet, author, and arts educator whose work centers Black identity, spirituality, love, and collective healing. With a career spanning more than four decades, her multidisciplinary practice blends acrylic, mixed media, and collage to create vibrant “spiritual portraits” that honor inner life, memory, and connection. Rooted in symbolism, rich color, and expressive form, Annie Ruth’s work explores Black love as both intimate and communal—romantic devotion, ancestral reverence, self-worth, and the everyday bonds that sustain community.

Her artwork has been featured in public and private collections nationally and internationally, and her community-based projects reflect a lifelong commitment to using art as a tool for affirmation, storytelling, and empowerment. Through her visual language, Annie Ruth invites viewers into moments of tenderness, joy, and reflection—celebrating Black love in all its beauty, resilience, and depth.