Form and Satisfaction

Existence

Existence is the most profound concept that underlies the work of Ryan Rubio. Yet it is not only existence alone but the very nature and reason for it that is the persistent thought that drives the artist in him to paint layers upon layers of thick paint to produce a final visible surface founded on tactile memories of the distant past: his youth.

When asked what his message is to his audience, he simply remarked: Life is precious. Not many people realize the true worth of life’s experiences, the real reason why people are around them. He continued: Value the people around you when they are alive. In death, they would not even know what praises and glories you sing in their honor. They would not hear you. Treasure them while they are there with you.

When asked why his figures reminisce of alien forms, he declared: What I see in people are not their physical appearances but what I feel they are, what I think they are made of, what I sense they want to be. Their physical forms become a blur to me, and what I see in them is their character, their personality, their values, their worth. I paint what I feel in my guts what I think they really are.

Rubio’s concept of after life is another life: A person continues what he needs to do, for the purpose he was created, even after death. He said: Death is just a transition for you to be able to continue your mission in life. And that Life is the one spoken of in the greater sense.

A remarkable recent work of Rubio is Huling Pyesta: Pebrero Dos ( Last Festival: February 2 ), a huge canvas  filled with fleeting images of a parade enjoyed by his father who passed away when the artist was only in grade school. Too early, he said, for one so inspiring, so nurturing, so supportive of his dreams and visions, to go. But nevertheless, anchoring on his own beliefs about Life and Death, he went and the Artist accepted it.

Yet all these seem not to matter to Rubio. When viewed in the broader horizon, deep within the context of what the Artist really believes in, Life and Death fall in but one straight continuum. Life cannot exist without Death, or Death without Life.