Patricia Rubio
There are three words to describe Patricia Rubio’s artworks: colorful. abstract. structures. The meticulousness and precision she takes in her use of color is startling.
We discovered her this March at stARTup Art Fair. There we were captivated by her colorful abstract structures. We asked if she would share her story with us.
Briefly introduce yourself.
I was born and raised in Madrid. I studied Fine Arts and specialized in painting there. I’ve been combining different jobs with my Studio Practice since I finished University. I moved from Madrid to Dallas about six years ago, and then from there to San Francisco about four years ago. I am now also working as an Art Instructor at Creativity Explored in San Francisco.
As a kid, I remember myself making art and improvising art shows all the time. I used to go to galleries, museums and art fairs with my mother and I guess it is then when I made the decision to become an artist. But I also thought about studying Art Conservation and Architecture, and I think you can see part of that in my art, the meticulous finishes and geometrical constructions.
What or who influences your geometrical structures?
I started making compositions out of my mind and about different framings of daily scenarios. From that and playing around with actual shapes and objects I realized the therapeutic aspect of the activity. Constructing and organizing imaginary blocks as we organize and construct our thoughts. That’s when I started a series called Pieces of Mind. From that, I started to add totems and color layers and I then called the new series New Land, coinciding with the moment I moved to the USA. I overlapped both series.
In both series, everything is about color balance and composition, building and constructing a composition. This is a way to organize and store thoughts and memories. Through blocks, shapes and geometric elements we can construct our personal story and organize our mind.
When did you start Block project?
Block project started when I realized how many sketches and small compositions I had, and the numbers were growing daily. Some of them were studies for bigger paintings and future projects. Normally I used to toss them and keep only one or two. But all the small sketches were about something I saw or that I felt at some point in time, so I decided to keep most of them and create new small paintings out of them. I made a selection of thirty compositions and transferred them into painting. The result was a collection of visual memories from last year. It was so inspiring and a very good exercise for my practice which eventually became so fructiferous and interesting.
So you can say Bloc project was a visual statement of my 2018.
If you could meet any artist who would they be?
I cannot think of only one artist. I would love to meet and have long conversations with Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, and Frank Stella, but I can think of many more including a lot of contemporary and active artists.
“It is important that you promote yourself and make yourself known, but it cannot come at the expense of your creation time, so a fine balance is needed.”
If you had any piece of advice to artists just starting their careers what would you say?
My advice would be don’t quit, art can be sometimes very frustrating. And also try to be very regular and strict with your practice. For me, the most difficult part is to keep the balance between the “administrative” work and the formal practice. In today’s world, you need to spend a lot of time documenting, networking, updating social media, your website, etc. It is important that you promote yourself and make yourself known, but it cannot come at the expense of your creation time, so a fine balance is needed.
Interview by Diane Lindquist