"Billie Holiday Wears a Veil Gifted by John Rawls" won Best of Show in the "In-VISIBLE"
exhibition at Point Park University. Rust created the piece as part of her 2015 residency at the McColl Center for Art
+ Innovation.
Caroline Rust
"Billie Holiday Wears a Veil Gifted by John
Rawls," oil on undergarments
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Caroline Rust '97 has won Best of Show for her painting "Billie Holiday Wears a Veil Gifted by John Rawls," part of a juried exhibition titled "In-VISIBLE" at Point Park University's Lawrence Hall Gallery in Pittsburgh.
John Carson, head of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Art, judged the exhibition, presented by the National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (NAWA), and awarded Rust's painting Best of Show.
Rust, a Rock Hill resident, said she was "most honored" to learn that her painting earned
top honors.
"I am honored to receive the Best of Show award for my piece in this exhibit. Pittsburgh
and all its creatives are wonderful, as is NAWA and its mission to empower and promote
female artists — a mission I believe in stalwartly," said Rust.
The winning painting is part of the "I Have Come to Make a Crooked Line Straight" series she created in 2015 while in residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rust explained that "Billie Holiday Wears a Veil Gifted by John Rawls" interweaves the themes and stories surrounding two well-known figures: jazz musician
Billie Holiday, whose experiences with racial injustice nonetheless contributed to her talent and
added depth to her expression, and philosopher John Rawls, whose "veil of ignorance" theory posits that under the veil people can function
as equals without bias or prejudice.
"Under the veil we are invisible, without bodies; we are our true essence — that is
the gift," said Rust.
Rust, a native of Charlotte, earned her B.F.A. (concentration in painting) at East Carolina
University and her M.F.A. (concentration in painting) at Winthrop. She is a member
of NAWA, and she is a recipient of artist grants from both the Arts Council of York County and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts and Science Council. Rust has patrons worldwide who collect her work, and she exhibits annually in both solo
and juried exhibitions across the U.S.
Learn more about Rust's artwork on her website, www.carolinerust.com.
