Frances Ruiz
Frances Ruiz, a Puerto Rican artist based in Indiana, transitioned from creating art as a recreational and spiritual pursuit to dedicating herself to it full-time in 2020. Her collage paintings are crafted by skillfully combining various media with paper. Her upbringing in Puerto Rico, her experiences in Indiana, her travels and other personal anecdotes serve as the primary inspirations for her work. Ruiz employs vibrant organic colors and dynamic lines to evoke movement and convey a sense of emotion in her compositions. Her ultimate objective is to infuse her paintings with joy and positive sentiments, leaving a lasting impression on viewers. Her art has been aptly described as “painting with paper” due to the intricate details and precise representation in her representational collages, which bring her subjects to life.
Ruiz formed and currently leads the Artist Collective WEPArt!, an Indiana based Puerto Rican artists collective whose purpose is to educate the community nationwide about Puerto Rican culture through the visual arts. She is a member of The Hoosier Art Salon, the Hamilton County Artists Association, Indy Latina Artists (ILA), and the Fishers’ Creative Council. She has recently been nominated for the Artist of the Year Award by Noblesville Creates, Eastern Hamilton County Art Community in Indiana. She was selected by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Arts Council as one of the “Welcome Race Fans 2025” artists. She has been recognized twice as a Hoosier Women Artist by the Indiana Arts Commission and Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch (2023, 2024). She has received several awards from juried exhibitions, including Best Floral or Other at the Hamilton County Artists Juried Show (2023) and Third Place at De Moir Gallery (2024). She has exhibited her artworks in numerous galleries throughout Marion and Hamilton County, including at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, The Indianapolis International Airport, The Stutz Building in Indianapolis, Newfields Museum of Art of Indianapolis, the Indy Arts Council’s Gallery 924, Indy’s Global Village, and at the City Hall Art Gallery in Fishers.
She has successfully created artworks for IU Health Fishers and is currently developing new artworks for forthcoming exhibitions in museums in Indy and in Chicago. Frances is part of the lead team of the Latino Artist Mentorship Program (LAMP) spearheaded by Arte Mexicano en Indiana fulfilling her commitment to promoting diversity awareness within her community, particularly to foster a positive impact for future generations of Latines.
