Anya Rubin’s work caught our artful eye at an exhibition at The Untitled Space Gallery. We gravitated towards one of Anya’s dreamy portraits, inspired by the idea of embracing female empowerment.
In her work, Anya often wonders about the cohabitation of nature and technology and frequently illustrates contemporary culture as it is umpired by screen time – something we can all relate too.
Art Zealous stole a moment with Anya to discuss the psychology behind her lovely art.
Art Zealous: Astrological sign?
Anya Rubin: Aries.
AZ: Muse?
AR: Nature.
AZ: You’ve lived around the world, where is your dream destination?
AR: I found Petra in Jordan to be a mystical ancient marvel.
AZ: Drink order?
AR: Manhattan.
AZ: How do you think boundaries blur between the tech world and the natural world?
AR: I try to depict a culture struggling to evolve at the same pace as technology. I recently started a group of works where I use technology to reimagine nature, using “cells and vessels” to create this life-affirming support structure.
AZ: What is your technique in capturing human spirit in your portraits?
AR: I try to paint people I know to capture their personality. I take a photograph, take it through multiple technical stages and then I create a pattern that I transfer to the canvas. Finally I begin to paint. I think the process parallels our Photoshopped profile photos on social media.
AZ: Can you elaborate on the idea of self-representation and its distorted reality in your portraits, especially in relation to society’s obsession with social media and selfies?
AR: I’m infatuated with the way individuals represent themselves on social media. I have specifically chosen to do portraits of close up faces as most people on social media give that part of their body most attention. I believe that social media almost forces people to manipulate their self-identity, to distort reality in order to attract and to get “likes.”
AZ: What can we expect to see from you in the future?
AR: I will continue asking questions through technology and paint about our contemporary culture and human nature.
AZ: How can we follow you?
AR: My website, twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
