In this recently made video, Lydia Rubio explain the process and concepts behind her multipanel painting, LOT 24. LOT 24 dives into topics of exile, queerness, war, and personal commentaries. It is based on an appropriation of Rubens’ ‘Exodus from Sodom and Gomorrah’ which is in the permanent collections of the Bass Museum of Art and Ringling Museum of Art in Florida. LOT 24 is installed in her studio in Hudson, NY.
Curated by the Hudson Brick LLC with Haley Mellin of Art for Acres.
An exhibition of 13 paintings 2015 to 2020. In these compositions, the artist approaches the construction of her paintings as a “visual musician”. Rubio’s work achieves a sort of cosmic hum that recalls the idea of the Musica Universalis. The ancients argued that the Music of the Spheres, while inaudible to anatomical ears, can be heard by the soul.
Interactive paintings performance at the Lumberyard, Catskill NY. 9. 15. 2019. Exhibition of five large format paintings on panel related to environmental issues in the Hudson River. The public was invited to participate in a sequence of erasures and redrawing of the works including references to the sites painted by Frederick Church and Thomas Cole, to evidence the urgency to stop the destruction of nature.
The Artful Book exhibition. Cover handmade by artist 16 x 11 inches, wood panels and linen.
Alphabet Series Keynote presentation Click here images and PDF of the book “Alphabet of Invisible Islands” 1998 and the boxes associated with it. Exhibition curated by Barbara Young November 2 to January 4th 2019. Visit www.lnsgallery.com
CENTER OF BOOK ARTS NYC
Opening October 3 – 14
Artist talk December 5th
Journals of Cuba, India and Patagonia. See complete journals videos here.
The Traveling Artist: Journals by Lydia Rubio
This exhibition features artistic documentation of artist Lydia Rubio’s travel narratives across linguistic and geographic landscapes. A multiple series of work including, The Genius Loci Book ( Colombia ), Journal of a Trip to the Island ( Cuba ), and Travel Journals from India, Patagonia, Geneva, and Morocco. The works record the artist’s experiences across a variety of calligraphic, drawing and poetic compositions.
Quotes on books
Adriana Herrera
“Lydia Rubio has succeeded in bringing into contemporary art the highest expression of the travel diary in a medium such as an artist’s book, the genesis of which takes us back to the Middle Ages. Her books are iconic: they are exquisite and freely imaginative, much like the drawings done by copyists on margins and, at the same time, are linked to the crossings of endless territories, from real topographies of the places she has lived to immersions in the diverse times of the history of art.”
“Lydia Rubio‘s Travel Journals are a result of an early appreciation for words and calligraphy. In the 1980s, her practice began to incorporate her fascination with to poets, the act of drawing, the life behind lines and gestures, and the sensual qualities of paper into the medium of the artist’s book. For Rubio, these books are the field where a free stream of thoughts meets the planner of strategist.”
“Lydia Rubio’s Travel Journals are an artistic documentation of the artist’s travel narratives across linguistic and geographic landscapes. The works record the artist’s experiences across a variety of calligraphic, drawing and poetic compositions. This exhibition includes multiple series of work including The Genius Loci Book, Journal of a Trip to the Island, and Travel Journals.”
“The Genius Loci Book 2014, documents the artist trips in Colombia during her extended residence, with notes, maps, watercolors and quotes from A Von Humboldt, Frederick Church, Goethe about landscape and art. The Journal of a Trip to the Island documents the artist’s trip to Cuba in 1999 and contains the studies for works that were later executed after returning to the studio. The works represent her reaction against the extremely visual and verbal turbulence within today’s world. Of them, Rubio says, “in them, I look for refuge, retreat into self, silence.” Continuing this work today, her studio practice is an ongoing investigation of nature and representation in painting: imagined or perceived, the abstract or the real simulated.”
The Protest Art Show at Time & Space Limited in Hudson
The Protest Art Show opened at Time & Space Limited (TSL) on Aug 31. The exhibit was curated by Arte4A, a collaboration by artists Pauline Decarmo, George Spencer and Tom McGill.
This exhibition is a din of about 100 works in diverse media, by approximately 50 artists (mostly local). Works in this show protest everything that begs to be protested–war, capitalism, corrupt leaders, sexual harassment, homophobia, racism, pollution, income inequality. The list goes on and on, because these problems are relentless. Thankfully, the works are not hung in particular/separate groupings, acknowledging that social and political problems overlap, often arising from a common source. So the show is fabulously chaotic and alive. It takes place in a large hall and adjacent room, between which is a revolving door labeled on either side COLORED ONLY and WHITES ONLY. The space is reminiscent of coffeehouses in the 1970s, inviting and funky.
A horde attended the opening– all races, all classes, all ages, forming talking nodes around pieces and actually looking at the art. For example– Alosa Sapidissima by Lydia Rubio–a river fish drawn with white paint and chalk on a black panel is erasable by the viewer, except for the plastic garbage inside the fish. There are Mrs. Butterworth bottles–with wicks. There are redacted documents. There’s far too much artwork here for a single viewing. And POTUS might be disappointed to know that, although referenced, his image is not front and center.
View Video of interaction with ALOSA SAPIDISSIMA
This exhibition in the TSL Gallery deals with issues of racism, environmental, economic inequality, access to health care, LGBTQ and women’s rights, gender equality, voter suppression, political and economic issues, dark money and political corruption, MAGA, The Wall / ICE, Dogwhistling, police violence, and more. Arte4a is a collaboration between Pauline Decarmo and George Spencer working in the visual arts, radio interviews, and curating exhibitions. September 1 to 29th at TSL Hudson, NY
Protest Art Exhibition at TSL- Time and Space Limited
Spheres of Meaning, an exhibition of Miami artists’ books, just opened at the Frost Art Museum curated by Amy Galpin and runs until August 25.
On View:
Saturday, June 8, 2019 — Sunday, August 25, 2019
Curated By:
Amy Galpin, Ph.D., Chief Curator
Spheres of Meaning: An Exhibition of Artists’ Books presents a range of artists’ books from manipulated texts to new narrative forms and books presented as sculpture. These “spheres” present philosophical inquiries, personal reflections, and ruminations on complex and often related notions such as nurture and nature. Moreover, this exhibition celebrates the rich and varied talent of artists living in Miami or artists who once called the city home, but whose books remain tied to the cultural fabric of this dynamic place.
The exhibition includes works by Margarita Cano, Lydia Rubio, Diego Gutierrez, Purvis Young, Carlos Maciá, Jeannette Stargala, Rosemarie Chiarlone, Lisa Haque, Rafael Domenech, Donna Ruff, and Carol Todaro, among others. At times delicate and intuitive, artists’ books inspire close-looking. For some of the artists in the exhibition, making books is a primary creative form, while for others, artists’ books serve as one of many media in which they engage. The books on view present eclectic interpretations on the book from the ethereal to the deconstructed and poignant reflections on autobiographical experiences.
This exhibition was made possible in part through the generous support of Oolite Arts.
