I am present in my art—now and forever.
I become one with the work by tracing and imprinting my body on canvas, marking my existence through every gesture.
For me, creation is not a choice; it is a necessity, a ritual of liberation.
Each piece is a testament to an infinite urge to create, and to the freedom I discover in that process.
I am my truest, most unbound self when I create—exploring spaces where no boundaries can contain me.
While I carry the weight of a traumatic past—shaped by war, displacement, and personal loss—my art does not emerge from pain, but from the will to survive through it.
I perform through my process.
I paint with my body. I use it as both vessel and voice, revealing resilience and the endurance of the soul.
My body is at the core of my technique. It is subject, tool, and presence.
I press and trace my form onto the canvas so that I am eternally embedded in the work. Through performance, I enact my survival, my emotions, and my claim to existence. These acts allow me to fully inhabit the spaces I create—each piece becoming a living embodiment of my presence.
I cut and tear the canvas to reflect a past that has been fragmented.
I sew it back together as a metaphor for healing, renewal, and becoming whole again.
In every gesture, every imprint, every stitch—I am here.
I am present.
BIOGRAPHY
Los Angeles-based artist Ruby Vartan was born in Beirut and classically trained at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Artes. The strong use of color in her paintings, which reflects her Armenian heritage and identity, symbolizes her desires as well. She has exhibited in Southern California at Launch, Museum of Lancaster MOAH:CEDAR, Cactus Gallery, Ace/121 Gallery, and Studio Channel Islands. She has also shown in New York City’s Ace Gallery and numerous times in Yerevan, Armenia including its Museum of Modern Art and the Yerevan Art Expo. Also was one of the participants of the cultural exchange program in digital public art at the metro system in Gimpo city, South Korea.
EXHIBITIONS
2024| Brewery Artwalk Fall 2024 at TKO Gallery & Jesus Art wall
2024|Group show, Hive Gallery DTLA
2024| Not an Art Fair, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach
2024| Ladies Night, Sab Gallery Collection, Arts District DTLA
2024| I Have My Own Plan, group show at Shoebox Arts LA
2024| Apophenia, Open call, LAMAG
2023| Baldwin Art Gallery group show, Pasadena
2023| Brand 51, Brand Gallery Art Center, Glendale
2023| Juried art exhibition, MOAH:CEDAR, Lancaster
2023| Charity Auction, Assistance League of Los Angeles
2023| Glendale Arts Association group show, the Makery (first in show Award)
2023| Rise, solo at the Glenmark hotel, Glendale
2022| Art is in Bloom, LA Artcore union center for the arts2024
2022| Discovering Takouhi portraits of JAQ, Armenian Museum of America, Boston
2022| Make Plain, group show Gallery 825, LA
2022| Telling Stories, group exhibition at Shoebox Arts LA
2022| Perceive You, Shoebox Arts LA group show
2022 | Live performances art at Armenian American Museum Gala
2022| Body online show, IKOUII
2021| Group show, Cactus Gallery Los Angeles CA
2020| Verbal Descriptions, Ace/121 Gallery, Glendale CA
2019| Beyond Redemption, Launch LA Gallery
2019| The Next Thing, Blackboard Gallery, Camarillo, CA (3rd place winner)
2019| Abstracto group show, The Neutra, Los Angeles
2019| Collector’s Choice Awards, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo CA
2018| Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan, Armenia
2018| Yerevan Art Expo - Yeran Factory
2017| Yerevan Art Expo - Yeraz Factory
2016| Open Call - Play, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park |Hollywood CA
2016| Arevdur - Armenian Arts Gallery, Glendale CA
2016| AGBU 110 - Anniversary Art display, at The Reef |Downtown LA
2016| Group Show - Arts Treasures | Burbank
2015| Art Goes Electronic- on the iconic billboard on Sunset blvd. Hollywood, CA
2014|'Art to Ark - From East to West'| West Hollywood Pop-Up Art Gallery, CA
2014| 'Thematic Expressions' - Anzoh Art Gallery| Glendale, CA
2013| 'Synthesis' - Mkrtchyan Art Gallery| Glendale, CA
2013| 'Art in fall' - Hovnanian School| New Jersey, NJ
2012| ACA Gallery | New York, NY | Emerging Artist Exhibition
2011| ‘Art in fall’ - Hovnanian School | New Jersey, NJ
2010| ICO Gallery | New York, NY
2010| ‘Art in fall’ - Hovnanian School | New Jersey, NJ
2009| Gallery Godo | Glendale, CA
2008| Municipality of Jdeideh | Beirut, Lebanon
2004| Palais de Congres Emil Lahoud | Beirut, Lebanon
2003| Escalier de L’art Gemmayzeh, Lebanon
2003| Municipality of Gemmayzeh, Lebanon
2003| University of ALBA | Beirut, Lebanon
2001| ‘Exposition de Ceramique’ – ALBA | Beirut, Lebanon
2000| Kulturzentrum | Beirut, Lebanon
2000| ‘Exposition de Ceramique’ Gallery SD| Beirut, Lebanon
1995| ‘Exposition de L’Enfant, La Nature’| Beirut, Lebanon