THE ARTIST’S STATEMENT

 

Ruby Vartan allows viewers a peek into her inner world through painting. The merging of figuration and abstraction is where their gaze is then focused. She explores emotion and sensuality in all their physical and emotional glory.

 

The hallmark of her work is its revelry in abstracting the female form. These are simultaneous self-portraits and cross-cultural signifiers of feminine essentialism. While wounds and trauma are represented in the abstract, her layered compositions render them as part of a greater journey toward healing and redemption. The ultimate aim of the work is to investigate the notion of a vital life force in a constant state of renewal.

 

Her studio process is inclusive and experimental. She will tear the canvas one day, sew it the next, mix turmeric into pigment, whatever it takes to find that precise resonance of closeness and discretion that her work embodies. This physicality and rough handling contrasts the preciousness of the intimacies she reveals. She is not bound to one pictorial method; the fierce liquid power of her experience thrives in an endless refreshing of mediums. Telling her own story through her art, she viscerally draws viewers into a world filled with volatile honesty and fragile self-expression. 

 

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

2022| GLEAMING APOLLO, online Exhibition, Los Angeles Art Association 

2021| Borders: Invisible/Visible digital public art exhibition, Gimpo city, South Korea

2021| Juried Art Exhibition 2021, MOAH:CEDAR, The Lancaster Museum of Art

2021| 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 Jdaideh | 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