Bradley Rubenstein (born 1963) is an American artist and writer who lives in Brooklyn, New York.[1][2] His figurative paintings, prints, and drawings combine elements of biology, psychology, and art historical references.[3]
Early life and education
Rubenstein was born in LaGrange, Illinois in 1963. He attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Museum School in Boston.[1]
Work
Rubenstein's artwork is known for exploring the human form and how it might be manipulated and engineered in the future, creating hybrid characters.[4] His paintings, photographs, and drawings reference genetic engineering and mutations, provoking discussion about the parameters and potential dissolution of self.[3][5][6]
Untitled (Girl with Puppy-Dog Eyes) (1996),[2] collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is a well-known piece. Rubenstein's works are also included in the collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Detroit Institute of Arts; The Krannert Art Museum Teaching Collection at The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Harvard Art Museum;[7] The Museum of the Moving Image, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Tang Teaching Museum,[8] Saratoga Springs, New York; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and others.[4] He has collaborated with such artists as Lucio Pozzi,[9] Sue de Beer,[10] Claude Wampler,[1][11] Bjarne Melgaard, and Sarah Michelson[4] to produce films, books, installations, and theatrical sets.
Rubenstein has written and edited a variety of articles and books on art and art education. He wrote The Black Album: Writings on Art and Culture, a collection of art reviews, published in 2018. He contributed reviews, interviews, and essays to ArtSlant,[12]CultureCatch,[13]M/E/A/N/I/N/G,[14]The Brooklyn Rail,[15]Sharkforum,[16] and Artforum.[17] He was a contributing editor for ArtKrush magazine, Art Journal, and New Observations.[17]
Rubenstein also works as a production artist and set painter for television, film, video, and theater.[18] He was the lead scenic artist for productions by Jonathan Demme, Spike Lee, Tom McCarthy, Jean-Marc Vallée, and Alfonso Cuarón. His film credits include Rosewater, The Bourne Legacy, Demolition, and Indignation; his work in television includes The Sopranos, Girls, and Blindspot.[18]
Exhibitions
In 1996, Rubenstein had his first solo exhibition at Automatic Art Gallery, Chicago, IL. Rubenstein has shown work both nationally and internationally at Clifford•Smith Gallery, Boston,[19] CREON Gallery,[20][21][22] Corraini Editions,
Universal Concepts Unlimited, Galerie Oliver Schweden,[23] Palazzo Costa,[24] Sara Meltzer Gallery,[25] Kunstlerhaus Hamburg,[26] Annika Sundvik Gallery,[27][28] Kunstlerhaus Bergedorf,[29] and others.[6][30][31]
The Black Album: Writings on Art and Culture, Battery Journal, volume 1, issue 1, Meridian Art Press, New York, 2018.[33]
“It’s Not Blood, It’s Red,” M/E/A/N/I/N/G, November 11, 2016[14]
"Brenda Goodman Talks 50 Years of Fearless, Introspective Painting," Artslant, April 4, 2016.[34]
"Written on the Kitten: BASQUIAT: The Unknown Notebooks," The Black Album: Writings on Art and Culture, 2018.[33]
"The Thing Itself: Mira Schor + Bradley Rubenstein, Part 1," CultureCatch, December 30, 2011.[35]
"The Thing Itself: Mira Schor + Bradley Rubenstein, Part 2," CultureCatch, March 10, 2012.[36]
"South of Heaven: Henri Matisse: Radical Invention 1913-1917," The Black Album: Writings on Art and Culture, 2018.[33]
Grants and awards
Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation/Grant, 2007.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Grant, 2000.
Künstlerhaus Hamburg/Fellowship, 1998.
National Endowment for the Arts/Regional Fellowship in Painting, 1994.
Selected bibliography
Anker, Suzanne and Dorothy Nelkin. The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 2004), p. 18.
Barandiarán, Maria José. "Bradley Rubenstein at Automatic," New Art Examiner, November 1996, p. 30-31.
Chambers, Tod. “The Art of Bioethics”, The Hastings Center Report, March–April 2005.[37]
Dalton, Jennifer. "Bradley Rubenstein/Annika Sundvik Gallery", Review, 10, February 15, 1997, pp. 28-29.
Gerlach, Gunnar. "Kaugummis und Körper", Hamburger Rundschau, October 23, 1997, p. 49.
Gerlach, Gunnar. "Halbe Hunde", Szene Hamburg, August 1998, p. 76-77.
Goodeve, Thyrza Nichols. “Affinity for Surfing”, Sept–Oct., 2003.[38]
Grunenberg, Christoph, Michael Rees, and Stuart Servetar. “Minor Mutations”, Permanent, (cat.) Clifford•Smith Gallery, Boston, MA, 1999.
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abcRubenstein, Bradley (2018). The Black Album: Writings on Art and Culture. Battery Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1, Summer 2018. New York: Meridian Art Press.
ISBN978-1-7322219-1-8.