NYAB Event - “Temples and Cathedrals” Ephraim Rubenstein

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At George Billis Gallery
Media: Drawing

“Temples and Cathedrals” is a series of new large-scale mixed-media drawings by Ephraim Rubenstein. Executed on paper, these black and white works utilize wax as a resist for subsequent ink washes, which are then further developed in charcoal, conte and nu-pastel.
The works attempt to capture the magisterial quality of these sacred spaces. Whether walking through the ruins of the Doric temples at Paestum or Salinunte, or entering one of the great European Gothic cathedrals, we sense immediately the importance of these structures through their heroic scale, commanding spaces and attention to light. The drawings of Greek temples not only capture the mesmerizing play of light on the rows of columns, but speak to our fascination with ruins; the evocative quality of things that survive only as fragments and that struggle for their survival right before our eyes. In the drawings of Gothic cathedrals, the artist wished to realize the richness of both the interiors and exteriors of these mas-
sive structures; the rich ornamentation of the facades, with their stained-glass windows and gargoyles, and the breath-taking quality of the soaring interiors, as one first walks in and looks up.
These two subjects are united because not only were the religious beliefs of the Pagans gradually transformed into Christian terms, but the marbles themselves were taken from the temples and recycled for use in the cathedrals. Ephraim Rubenstein received his B.A. in Art History from Columbia University, and his M.F.A. in Painting from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. He has exhibited at the Butler Institute of American Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Academy of Design. His work is represented in public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Exxon Corporation, and Deloitte & Touche. This is his second solo exhibition at the George Billis Gallery.

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