Christine Riutzel

Bio: Christine has called the Ozarks home for 26 years. Though she explored art in childhood, it wasn’t until her homeschool high school art teacher expanded her perspective that she began to actualize her passion. Her teenage years were marked by trauma and survival, making creative expression difficult. Raised in an extremist, legalistic community that evolved into a Calvinist cult, Christine’s early life left deep scars. At age 25, as part of her healing journey, she also began creating again. Unable to attend traditional art school, she pursued affordable online courses to grow her skills. Since 2016, Christine has exhibited her work in several fine art shows and built a full-time career as a professional artist, with murals as her primary medium. She currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Southern Missouri Arts Connection and is a member of the Hollister Planning Commission. Christine works from her private studio in Hollister, where she continues to use public art to uplift and inspire young, underprivileged artists in a region where the visual arts are often overlooked.

Artist Statement: As a child raised in an alternative, patriarchal community (think 19 Kids and Counting), I never imagined I could be an artist. My future was confined to being a wife and mother. I would stare at works by Warhol, Rothko, and Basquiat in encyclopedias, longing to create but knowing it would never be accepted. Even in my dreams, I felt trapped, yearning for empowerment.

Eventually, I reached a “spiritual crisis.” I had proven I could make a living with art, but I resisted creating work with meaning—fear of judgment held me back. It wasn’t until I embraced art as therapy that I began to process the impact of my upbringing.

These pieces depict the dreamlike, dissociative spaces I experienced during conflicts with my legalistic, abusive father. Nostalgic imagery and Biblical symbolism explore themes of spiritual abuse, religious trauma, and identity reconstruction. My work questions the narratives I was given: How do I heal after the Evangelical church failed me? How do I move forward when my father would rather disown me than accept me? If divine love is unconditional, why has my experience been one of rejection?

Materiality plays a key role—many works are created from found or donated materials, symbolizing reclamation and transformation. Working with power tools, often seen as a masculine domain, is both defiant and healing, allowing me to reclaim my agency.