"In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, Rubin explained that he used to paint realistic portraits, but that his transformation began after being in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. Upon returning to his home in London, Rubin began to paint pictures of worn out, abandoned toys that he’d found on the streets, he said. Gradually, he returned to portraiture, but without faces. “I’d like to think the figures in my paintings remind the viewer of certain people or evoke memories rather than portray specific identities. My works are minimal, often there’s not much there,” he is quoted as saying. ... grandson of Israeli painter Reuven Rubin." http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/70422/s.f.-exhibit-features-contemporary-jewish-artist/ "...it is possible to transcribe his own story, like a mask which everyone could relate to. Gideon Rubin agrees: "I like to imagine a dialogue between the work and the viewer." http://www.fondationfrances.com/artiste/rubin-gideon.html#ad-image-0 "His subject matter looks like a snapshot of some pleasantly nostalgic, youthful memory—the kind of photo that would hang in your great aunt’s house. Rubin then further elevates the subject matter by using a consistent, sophisticated palette of muted pastels and neutrals. By clearing away the faces of his subjects—he creates characters in his painting that are both anonymous, yet hauntingly familiar. They have the familiarity of childhood along with a certain eerie quality. They make you feel at home, yet a bit uneasy at the same time. It is like seeing a ghost, but a ghost of someone you miss and that you might actually hope to see. They cause the viewer to question if these memories have been whitewashed for a reason. As an optimistic guy—I look at Rubin’s work and assume that there are smiles missing from the blank spaces, but the most successful aspect of the work is the implied question as to what the real expression should be." http://decorexperiment.com/2012/03/13/gideon-rubin-6/ undefined

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