SOLO EXHIBITION
SOLO EXHIBITION
SOLO EXHIBITION
The World's Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
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The World's Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
Roxy
Rubell
UNITED STATES
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“While my works reflect different styles, their commonality lies in my use of elements such as dynamic use of color, a sense of movement – and presentation of subject matter that engages and evokes a wide range of emotions.”
I’m a New Hampshire-based, self-taught painter and my medium is acrylic on canvas and canvas panel. Ideas for both my portrait and abstract paintings are triggered by myriad influences including literature or magazine articles I’ve read as well as pop culture, music, people, animals, and nature. In other words, LIFE and the world around us. As well, I use painting as a way to reflect and intertwine a wide spectrum of emotions linked to my own life experiences of the past, the present and the future – and the anticipation of what might be waiting down the road in the future.
Finished in late December 2020 as the COVID-19 vaccine was starting to become available and the world was beginning to drag itself out of the pandemic, the painting’s bright, upbeat tone hints at the hope for better days ahead and a fresh start in the coming new year. The textured bursts of coral are the gateway color and the connector to a spirited composition of color; textured black on black, yellow on blue, streaks of yellow green, splashes of green gold, and swipes of sap green.
Where it all started…
My grandmother’s name was Yvonne Pache. She was French, a fashion designer and an oil painter, studying with Joseph Pilage and Gustav Trois. She didn’t start painting until her 50’s, taking it up to help alleviate the onset of severe rheumatoid arthritis and she found some success. Her work was showcased in exhibitions at the Smithsonian, the Corcoran Gallery – and on the walls of my childhood home. Subsequently, I grew up being surrounded by her finished paintings which left an indelible impression on me, instilling an appreciation for use of color. I was fortunate to also witness their creation once she moved from Guadalajara, Mexico to Swanzey, New Hampshire (where we lived). She taught me some basic drawing techniques including drawing boundary lines as a tool to establish proper proportion when sketching faces – mainly women’s faces for some reason. However, I never took it seriously enough to take formal art classes.
Weiland was inspired by a 1960's Winston cigarette ad - but I flipped the script. Here is a modern-day cowboy wearing flamboyant clothes and nail polish. That this cowboy turned out to resemble the late Scott Weiland, leadman for Stone Temple Pilots, was unintentional but I felt like it captured his spirit – edgy and uninhibited – just like the cowboy in purple velvet pants – hence the name of the painting.
And then…
While I was a senior at Skidmore College in Saratoga, NY, I took my first art class – charcoal drawing. This was clearly not a class that taught basics of drawing – which is what I needed most. Needless to say, the teacher wasn’t impressed with my attempts at trying to sketch the anatomy of the nude models and wasn’t all that helpful in trying to offer guidance or teach me technique. In fact, I think she was exasperated by my attempts and just gave up on me by the third class – she walked around praising the drawings of other students but when she stopped at my easel, she sort of made a face, grimaced and walked away. It actually sounds pretty funny when I tell the story now but at the time, it left me quite discouraged and not the least bit interested in trying to pursue the creation of art with the exception of creative writing.
“I grew up being surrounded by her finished paintings which left an indelible impression on me…”
The indoctrination of an urban neophyte…
The summer after graduating from Skidmore, I moved to New York City to work as an intern and then subsequently a full-time employee at a large public relations agency. I had never visited New York before -- it was an eyeopener! And although I did not pick up a paintbrush during the three years I lived there, I frequented museums and regularly attended gallery openings – both of which fueled my interest and passion for art. At the end of 1988 I got a new job at another PR agency and moved to Los Angeles – a city I had had an inexplicable affinity for (even though I’d never been there), since my pre-teen years.
Roxy Rubell’s art exhibitions include:
Palm fronds and lemon trees…
I lived in Los Angeles for 22 years and the short version is that while I was there, I got married and divorced, remarried and subsequently divorced, continued to do PR and marketing, added freelance music journalist to my skill set and eventually left the corporate world to start On the Rox Media doing PR consulting for restaurants and hotels. I also started Baking Whoopie, an online bakery that sold gourmet whoopie pies.
A lot of other things also went down during those 22 years. My parents were still back in NH and I would go back and forth fairly frequently. I got homesick. Then my mom got sick in 1999 and died in 2000. Colon cancer. My dad remained in NH in our family home for many years afterwards and I would often go back to visit him – he was devastated and never took his wedding ring off. We had a great relationship and since I was divorced and living alone, we would often commiserate over the phone. Then I met my second husband in LA in 2003, got remarried in 2005 but by 2011, found myself in a weird place. He was a good guy – with the bonus of being a master chef and gourmet caterer. But for some reason I felt like I was suffocating. I was invited to attend a wine tasting he was catering which also turned out to be a paint night event. The teacher had lightly sketched the outline of a wine bottle on a 5”x7” canvas panel. I picked up a brush and began to paint using the outline of the bottle as my foundation. When the teacher looked at mine she was impressed with my use of color but wondered why certain elements didn’t really resemble what I was actually supposed to be drawing – a still life display of a wine bottle and glasses. I didn’t even realize that was the subject I was supposed to be working from! While I felt a bit embarrassed, I was also pleasantly surprised by the teacher’s reaction to what I had painted. It was a “duh” moment that turned into an “ah ha” experience and served as the catalyst that triggered my passion for painting. (I’ve included an image of it.) And thus, in 2011, I started to paint just for fun – for the hell of it, off the cuff, no instruction whatsoever. The act of painting felt incredibly fulfilling and emotionally freeing -- by putting brush to canvas, I felt like I was rediscovering myself – and tapping into a creative place that I never knew existed within myself. Where had this passion been hiding? At times, I felt my grandmother (Nana) was right there with me – and I still do sometimes. I kept painting and painting while at the same time, my marriage went south. In 2013, I moved back to NH – paint and paint brushes in tow, to hit the reset button for myself and for family-related reasons.
A simple, minimalistic approach in both technique and subject matter, gets its voice from my melding of texture with bold hues that, together, help the painting achieve tangible dimension.
“My portrait and abstract paintings are not quiet. They are uninhibited, bold and use color and brush strokes to express unfiltered, visceral creativity, often generating a sense of movement throughout each piece. My intent is to pull the viewer close to experience life in the painting and walk away feeling alive and passionate.”
This painting was inspired by a layout for a late 1960's-era Seagram's Whiskey ad – a smart decision here, a bad judgement call there, too many cocktail hours perhaps – the past catches up to all of us at some point.
A bumpy road home
Sure, you can always go home…but to what? Getting re-established was as smooth as a jagged rock. I ruptured my left Achilles tendon (while playing tennis) only two months after moving back; I couldn’t find any freelance work other than writing local feature profiles for the Keene Sentinel and concert previews for NH Union Leader; a newly opened Kohl’s didn’t hire me. I worked as a seasonal delivery helper for UPS for $9.95 an hour until after one week in, my Achilles tendon started to ache; I took a job as a copywriter for a local ad agency (I had no choice but to go work for “the man” again) where I remained for five years until 2019 when I revived On the Rox Media and became intently committed to painting.
Colors that resonate, movement that sings.
I moved into the house “as is” meaning it came complete with the cellar my dad had filled to the gills with stuff – from tools to old stereo equipment to a lot of empty boxes, old suitcases and even a boogie board – AND the bonus of many of my grandmother’s paintings which also hung on the living room and dining room walls. I picked up my brushes again about eight months after my move, initially painting at the dining room table and then finally moving to an easel in the basement (after I had the junk guys come and haul a giant truckload of stuff away). The act of painting was a deeply cathartic experience for me (as it still is) and many of my paintings during this time reflect the many shades of angst I felt.
Masculinity, strength, power, “bold, defiant,” the bull is a fitting choice of image for 1968 ad for men's cologne. But, in the time of the pandemic, which is when I painted this, even the bull -- an elegant pillar of strength, isn’t immune to the ills that the world was experiencing.
Presently, I am working on a new series of paintings that will juxtapose form and shape against darker background shades. This will be featured at a local exhibit in October, Whitcomb Hall Raises the Curtain where I’ll have the good fortunate to be showing next to acclaimed painters such as John C. Traynor and Jeanne Thieme.
My collection of late 1960-era Look Magazines are chock full of cigarette ads. Nothing epitomizes rugged like the iconic Marlboro Men did. But, even tough guys have weaknesses. What will get this handsome cowboy first? The bull - or the butts?
“Sure, you can always go home…but to what? Getting re-established was as smooth as a jagged rock.”
A dark background serves as the foundation that showcases upbeat whites, pinks and a just a swipe or two of crimson and resulting a vibe that says "have a beautiful day."
Behind the work
My portrait and abstract paintings are not quiet. They are uninhibited, bold and use color and brush strokes to express unfiltered, visceral creativity, often generating a sense of movement throughout each piece. My intent is to pull the viewer close to experience life in the painting and walk away feeling alive and passionate.
While the whole of my work to date reflects different styles, their commonality lies in my use of elements such as dynamic use of color, a sense of movement -- and presentation of subject matter that engages and evokes a wide range of emotions.
I am moved and inspired by many, many painters and artists. If I included all of them here, the list would be a few pages long. However, some of them include Helen Frankenthaler, Willem De Kooning, Henri Matisse, Rene Magritte, Jackson Pollock, Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner, Wassily Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Jean-Michel Basquiat and…my French grandmother Yvonne Pache, whose oil on canvas paintings were showcased in exhibitions at the Smithsonian, the Corcoran Gallery – and on the walls of my childhood home.
A loose depiction of an iconic singer/songwriter.
Painting Descriptions and Details
Reinterpretations Series*
“Weiland” (30” x 40”) was inspired by a Winston cigarette ad - but I flipped the script. Here you see a modern-day cowboy wearing flamboyant clothes and nail polish. That this cowboy turned out to resemble the late Scott Weiland, leadman for Stone Temple Pilots, was unintentional but I felt like it captured his spirit – edgy and uninhibited – just like the cowboy in purple velvet pants – hence the name of the painting.
“Taunted by a Messy Colorful Past” (20” x 28”) was inspired by a layout for a Seagram’s Whiskey ad. A smart decision here, a bad judgement call there, too many cocktail hours perhaps. The choices we’ve made in the past eventually catch up with each of us at some point. But back in the 60’s, when cocktail hour routinely began at 5:00 and the health risks of ongoing alcohol use hadn’t yet been disclosed, no one was thinking about moderation, or the effects caused by a lack thereof.
“Sickened By It All,” (16" x 18")
While the initial inspiration for this portrait came from a 1968 print ad for men’s cologne, when I actually started working on it, the pandemic was just beginning, and the senseless shooting of Breonna Taylor had just occurred. The ailing bull, encircled by a bright ring of red, represent the anxiety and fear I’m sure most of us were feeling at this time. Even the bull – an elegant pillar of strength, wasn’t immune to the ills that landed in our lives.
*The Reinterpretations Series I painted showcases contemporary recreations of 1960’s-era ads I found in various issues of Look Magazine. I created this 10-painting series over the course of 2018-2019. These paintings take the subject matter from the ads to an edgy, and oftentimes rather dark place – for example, depicting iconic Americana touchstones like the Marlboro Man or Winston Man not as the handsome men featured in the actual ads but either weathered and worn down due to a rough and tumble lifestyle or modernized to reflect today’s cultural norms.
Color and Flow Series*
Morning Burst (24” x 48”) is a larger format work I started and finished in late December 2020 as the COVID-19 vaccine was starting to become available and the world was beginning to drag itself out of the dark days of the pandemic. The painting’s bright, upbeat tone hints at the hope for better days ahead and a fresh start in the coming new year. The textured bursts of coral are the gateway color and the connector to a spirited composition of color; textured black on black, yellow on blue, streaks of yellow green, splashes of green gold and swipes of sap green.
Poppy Time (16” x 20”) showcases a simple, minimalistic approach in both technique and subject matter. I then melded texture with bold hues to achieve tangible dimension that gives the painting its voice.
Echo (18” x 24”)
A swirl of pale green encircles a bluster of color -- bold splashes of red, vibrant coral and deep blue hues.
*While I had no specific subject matter in mind when I created this series, I had definite ideas about the featured color(s) and color combinations I would utilize. Then I let intuition and emotion take it from there. I did these paintings in 2020-21.
Remembering my grandmother, Yvonne Pache and the ways her paintings and art made an indelible impression on me.