rubenu

About me

Ruben Gerardo Ubiera Gonzalez (born October 19, 1975 in Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic) is a Dominican neo-figurative artist, known for his strong
use of the line, who has been drawing and painting ever since he had use
of reason.
Ruben paints and draws in a style considered b...

Ruben Gerardo Ubiera Gonzalez (born October 19, 1975 in Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic) is a Dominican neo-figurative artist, known for his strong
use of the line, who has been drawing and painting ever since he had use
of reason.
Ruben paints and draws in a style considered by many as Pop-surrealism, but
he prefers to call it urban-pop, since he has lived most of his life in the urban,
populated areas and most of his inspiration is derived from the interactivity
between man and his urban environment. He was educated in drawing, painting
and art history by his uncle; a self-taught artist and art teacher, priest and
principal of his school (San José de Calasanz, Sto. Dgo., Dom Rep.). At the
age of 15, his family moved to the Bronx, NY, where he was heavily influenced
by the grafitti art that surrounded him, something he wouldn't realize until much
later in his life. After a year of absorbing the urban landscape, he went back to
the Dominican Republic for another year, until finally finishing his high school
studies at Salem High School, in Salem, MA. Heavily involved in art, Ruben
managed to win silver and gold medals in the Boston Globe's Scholastic
Awards, a Union Latina Scholarship and a full-tuition Fernando Botero's
International Scholarship to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale,
FL., for which he competed against 60,000 students from over 32 countries.
Although his portfolio was stolen two months before graduation, Ruben
accomplished to not only create a new collection of pieces, but win Best Portfolio
of his graduating class.
He strives in all his work to capture an essential part of his past, his present
and his subjects through the use of the line and form. His work includes still-life
and city landscapes, but Ruben tends to primarily focus on situational portraiture.
His paintings are, on first examination, noted for being charged with "skateboard-
isms", paint drips and the constant presence of grafitti in some shape or
form. But, after closer inspection, one notices the detail, sarcastic contrast,
the social commentary and human struggle that's felt by the technique and
subject matter.
"I love art. Grafitti, typography, photography, print... the medium does not matter.
If the message and the concept are strong, the final end result will always be
strong. The key is to find the medium that will complement the concept.
I like to paint on wood and found objects. They carry a rustic appeal that I find to
be beautiful. Mixing graphic design on printed pieces with brightly colored paint
onto old, worn objects, makes the final art look antiquated, decayed and very interesting to the eye and to the touch. I paint what I see, what surrounds me. The
fact that I skateboard everyday keeps me close to the streets, the cosmopolitan
city with all of its wonders and aberrations, the life of a Latino in the United
States, and any piece of popular culture that comes to mind. But what I really like
to paint is portraits. I love using collages to describe people and the history that
got them to where they are today, the mix of hard graphic shapes, typographic
elements with anthropomorphic surrealistic images.
Contrast in concept, and in execution..."

Information

• Name: Ruben Ubiera
• Country: USA
• State: FL
• City: South Florida
• Joined: October 11, 2009
• School: Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale
• Occupation: Artist
• Favorite Music: The one that hits the soul
• Favorite Movie: c'mon... impossible
• Favorite Book: the art of war
• Genre: Graphic Design, Digital Art, Drawing, Print Making, Street Art, Mixed Media, Typography, Printing, Collage, Painting, Designs/Interfaces, Photography B&W, Cartoons/Comics, Portraits, Murals, Installation Art, Book Art

• Links:
• http://www.urbanpopsoul.com
• http://www.nunage.com
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruben-Ubiera/115373012554
• http://www.zatista.com
• http://www.surropa.com

Events

• Urban Decay October 01, 2010

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