But it is Rubenstein’s lilting use of color that, Siren like, calls the eye forth in gentle, soothing transitions only to become hopelessly ensnared in her seemingly endless textures. Happily, these are uplifting palettes, for the most part. The canvases are intermittently shimmering and evocative of a rosy dawn, a moody sea, a golden sunset, a turquoise lagoon, so smoothly massaged are the bridges of her hues.

As a whole, the show feels very Malibu. That is, an overarching breezy west coast ease that requires closer inspection to notice the relentless micro-efforts-over-time involved in its creation.

However, one particular canvas hits differently, this one strikingly evocative of a city scape. “Time And Love And You” is like graffiti and neon crayoned over brick with Fisher-Price abandon. Three isolated shapes in stark primary colors. Implying perhaps sun, water, earth in a chunky, urban visual haiku.

It was our least favorite of the delightful show, like tearing away from the Pacific Coast Highway onto the 405. Perhaps because of its deliberate visual break from the otherwise seamless collection, this canvas had an outsider feel all its own. And thus becomes the most impactful piece in the entire display

CONNECTED TO ALL THAT IS Rachel Rubenstein
FORMah Gallery
On view through April 13, 2024

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Times Square Chronicles

Rachel Rubenstein: Textures Tell a Tale Of Fascinating Distress

By Friday Jones

April 6th, 2024

Some things bright and charming are beaming through the early spring drizzle of the lower east side this month. Adjacent to the the damp daffodils of Allen Street’s center median please find Rachel Rubenstein’s sunny Californian canvases that therapeutically manage to make stress look quite appealing.

Beckoning from within FORMah Gallery, Rubenstein pressed then ripped, drizzled then dried. Scraped, then layered. Glazed and gelled and then layered again something sparkly here, then something gritty there. So many layers! Layers of benign linen in even strips, roughly pulled. Ripped canvas ribbons deliberately placed. Flying Irish pennants belying carelessness with concentrated effort.