LYDIA RUBIO
Showing space tbc
Lydia Rubio is a Cuban-born American multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, drawing, artist books, sculpture, and public art. Rooted in a 46-year studio practice that began in New York City and continues today in Hudson, New York, her work moves between abstraction and representation, intuition and structure, memory and imagination.
A third-generation woman painter, Rubio began making art early in life. Her work draws upon the poetic intersections of nature, culture, literature, and lived experience, embracing experimentation as a way of discovery. Her exhibitions include the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her honors include an Ellies Award, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Cintas Fellowship, and State of Florida Individual Artist Grant.
Rubio’s work is held in museum and university collections across the United States. She holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard GSD and has taught at Parsons, Harvard GSD, and the University of Puerto Rico.
Artist Statement
In my work, I want the viewer to experience wonder and self-reflection, playfulness and curiosity, and a sense of harmony rooted in beauty—qualities that feel especially necessary in today’s world.
Painting, drawing, and unique artist books are central to my practice. My work grows from reactions to moments and places in my life, blending cultural influences from South and North America. I work in series, often unfolding sequentially like novels. Apollonian abstract geometric works counterbalance Dionysian representational landscapes, birds, figures of women, and objects, with words often incorporated into the imagery. I am inspired by nature, master paintings, and the narratives and rhythms found in poetry, literature, and music.
For me, making art is a process of discovery: exploring a wide range of expressions, experimenting, and inventing. Experimentation has taken precedence over a uniform style. What connects the work is a consistent approach to form and technique, a conceptual way of working, recurring subjects, and an interest in the poetic, the universal, and the spiritual.