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bradley
rubenstein . requiem set: peter's shadow. 2002 . installation
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"It was revealed to me that those things are good which yet are corrupted which neither if they were supremely good nor unless they were good could be corrupted." James Joyce
"The will to a system is a lack of integrity." Friedrich Neitzsche
Bradley Rubenstein’s recent series of paintings, Requiem Set: Peter’s Shadow, continues Rubenstein’s meditation on the loss or myth of innocence. Weaving together the J.M. Barrie classic story of Peter Pan with studies of Vedic practice, contemporary psychological theory, scientific method and a conceptual exploration of the materials and history of painting, Rubenstein creates in these works his own populace of Neverland—images of children trapped in adult bodies and depicted in various states of evolution, decline and decay.
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bradley rubenstein . requiem set: peter's room #1 . oil on canvas . 70" x 50" . 2002 |
Phalluses are embedded with anamorphic skulls, for example, suggesting simultaneously virility and death. Similarly, a child's teardrop refers to mourning and lament as well as a traditional gang initiation tattoo. All rendered in lead-based black oil on canvas (lead is a substance well-known for its latent toxic effects on children) and painted in combinations of carbon (the basic element of the human body), Rubenstein’s figures are determined by an arcane painting process, though originally conceived through photographic and computer imaging programs.
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bradley rubenstein . requiem set: peter's room #3 . oil on canvas . 70" x 50" . 2002
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The figures float on grounds of color made from semi-precious pigments (Malachite and Lapis Lazuli) in the manner of religious icons, suggesting a world beyond the material. Like Joseph Beuys’ seminal performance "How to Explain Painting to a Dead Hare" , Rubenstein seeks to create an art that expresses wonder and terror at the same time, while acknowledging the existential futility of that pursuit.
Los Angeles based artist, Mark Verabioff's project room installation, "Mark Verabioff, Helen Keler and Another Abled Woman", simultaneously invokes the artist and two media mega-superstar feminist icons. The artist says that by employing text (museum-style vinyl lettering) dartboards and darts, with usurped quote by madonna, he brings into question the inversion of identity (myself and Helen/Helen and Madonna). An available editioned piece based on Tracy Emin's work further ignites a critique of Emin's bad capitulated practice of seventies feminist art, and the male artist's role in this dialogue
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mark verabioff . untitled dartboard (helen) . 20 widdy darts, vinyl, spray paint . dim. var. with installation . 2000/2002 |
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mark verabioff . untitled dartboard (madonna) . 20 widdy darts, vinyl, spray paint . dim. var. with installation . 2000/2002 |
