Artist of the Week 31
Paula Rubino
Paula Rubino is a painter making contemporary imagery with classical techniques and materials. Spare compositions are arranged to evoke calm; color is placed to heighten mood; and multi-layered broad brushwork builds a complex yet fresh surface. Recent work focuses on the figure and face.
Rubino trained at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, and furthered her studies with Odd Nerdrum in Norway. She also graduated with degrees in economics and law from the University of Florida. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised in Florida, Rubino has since lived and worked in Mexico, Italy, and Finland. She is currently based in Stuart, Florida, and also maintains a studio in Laitila, Finland.
“Paula Rubino brings a broad range of stylistic influence and international experience to bear in her bold and colorful painting, the creation of which takes place primarily in her Florida and Finland studios.
With education in architecture, drawing, painting, etching and print-making, this New Jersey native applies an unconventional approach to the figure while still incorporating several methods and materials from her traditional training.
A strong interest in design and a modernist view of color are so apparent in her work, and as such her paintings often appear assemblage-like in their striking arrangement of prints and patterns and in the broken, textural brushwork that bring the fabrics to life.”
(from In the Studio: Paula Rubino, by Allison Malafronte, February 2019)
Taking initial inspiration from the world around her, be it a tree, a book, a song, or current events, Rubino works with a live model to plan her compositions, sitting multiple times until additional elements have been decided. Throughout the painting and repainting of a composition, a sketch is used to stay grounded. Layers are built up, adding both dimension as well as a suggestion of the transience of each day’s work. Entering the studio each day, unsure of what will happen, Rubino likes to leave at night with a simple problem still hanging in the air, so that she feels motivated to return the next day.
Rubino’s work has been exhibited extensively nationally as well as internationally, including solo exhibitions at Grenning Gallery (Sag Harbor, NY), DNFA Gallery (Pasadena, CA), Wäinö Aaltosen Museon Kahvila (Turku, Finland), Galerie Oljemark (Helsinki, Finland), and Ann Long Fine Art (Charleston, SC), among others. Her most recent exhibitions in 2019 include Corry, Fenne & Rubino Pop-Up at Amerlia T. Handegan (Ann Long Fine Art, Charleston, SC), and A Web of Artists, Friends from Social Networks (Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA).
In 2010, Rubino received the WSA and Martin County Arts Council Grant, and received the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation Grant in both 2006 and 2009. Rubino has remained affiliated with the Finnish Painters’ Union and Finnish Artists’ Union from 2008 to present.
Contact Lily Pad Gallery West for information on pricing and to view additional works by Paula Rubino.
(414)-509-5756
info@lilypadgallery.com
To learn more about Paula Rubino, and view her expanded portfolio, visit her website:
