Alexandra Rubinstein

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Alexandra Rubinstein is a contemporary artist based in Brooklyn, New York.[1] She is known for her use of oil paints.[1] Rubinstein’s artworks involve feminist narratives in relation to the third-wave feminism movement, and her works have gained attention through her depiction of celebrities such as Drake and Barack Obama performing oral sex on women.

Early life[]

Rubinstein was born in 1988 in Sverdlovsk, USSR, now known as Yekaterinburg, Russia. Her mother is Russian, and her father is Jewish.[1] The family was given asylum after ten years.[1] They immigrated to the United States in 1997 and moved to Pittsburgh.[1] Rubinstein showed an interest in art when she was in high school, attending classes at Carnegie Mellon University.[1]

Education[]

Rubinstein earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Carnegie Mellon University.[1] After graduating, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in art.[1]

Artistic career[]

Rubinstein currently works out of a studio in Brooklyn, New York. Rubinstein a number of oil paintings following the realism tradition which were framed in small-scale exhibitions across the United States.

Looking for Mr. Goodsex (2013)[]

This large series of oil paintings created by Rubinstein are images taken from vintage pornographic films from the 80s, predominantly those released around the time the pornographic film called "Deep Throat" was released.[2] The frames were particularly striking as they focussed on women's faces during sex, which was historically uncommon. There was a focus in the videos on women.[2] The series of paintings then branched out into stills of men and women kissing to show vulnerability and the nature of sexual pleasure and romance.[2]

Celebrity Cunnilingus (2014)[]

This series of oil paintings includes a variety of male celebrities during coitus. Such celebrities include Justin Bieber, Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco and Barack Obama. Within this series, Rubinstein aims to empower women through the portrayal of pleasure from female point of view.[4] The artist allegedly created this series after realising there was a lack of focus on women in pornography.[3] Rubinstein created this series after realising there was a lack of focus on women in pornography.[4] Rubinstein also included herself in most of her works, particularly prominent in this series, to tell her story.[5]

Thirsty (2015)[]

This series focused on the nature of heterosexual female sexuality through oil-on-the-panel images of 1970s male porn stars. Rubinstein hoped to turn rattle the art world by representing women as the consumers of nude male imagery, rather than depicting women as objects being consumed.[6] The works use a bottle opener to mimic the common decorative use of the female form, highlighting the notion that men are made into objects of ‘thirst’, similar to that which follows a beer.[7] The imagery promotes the idea that women are independent and can also have a beer, which is considered to be a male beverage.[6]

Hands off my Cuntry (January 11, 2017)[]

This exhibition was curated by Savannah Spirit and displayed at the Undercurrent Projects in New York City.[8] This show was featured in Spirit's HOTTER THAN JULY series and was displayed a week before Donald Trump's inauguration.[8] The collection focused on erotic imagery and was designed to poke Trump's rightwing cabinet.[8] 12 different artists contributed art pieces to the exhibition and 20 percent of the profits from the show went towards Planned Parenthood.[8] This exhibition focused on the celebration of female sexuality in a provocative manner.

This exhibition gained Rubinstein a lot of publicity, particularly due to the presence of the then well-known painting "Thanks Obama" (2016, oil-on-panel) used in promotional products such as posters and flyers.[8] The image is a photo-realistic painting of Barack Obama smiling, ready to perform cunnilingus on a faceless woman. The exhibition received a lot of backlash, especially Rubinstein's painting, because it was deemed "offensive and disrespectful".[8] One of Rubinstein's paintings from the Thirsty series was also featured in the exhibition. The show's focus on erotica captured people's attention and brought them into the exhibition. Rubinstein's works consist of erotic nature, and the imagery she created brings attention to her personal beliefs.

Style[]

Rubinstein's style hyper-realistic, and contemporary with a particular focus on female sexuality. The oil-on-panel helps create the authenticity of human figures in her paintings, and the metaphors in the titles help convey her message.

Reception[]

Some art critics have found Rubinstein's works offensive or revealing due to their overtly sexual content. Liberal mainstream media sources, such as BuzzFeed, praised her works for the use of famous celebrities and not for the representation of female empowerment.[9][10]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Artist Profile". agdir.org. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Paintings by Alexandra Rubinstein". Juxtapoz Magazine. June 17, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Lui, Elaine. "Why More Women Need to Talk about Getting Head." Flare, Winter 2016, 54–55.
  4. ^ GQ (October 31, 2016). "Celebrity Cunnilingus: Drake, Justin Bieber and Leo DiCaprio as you've never seen them before". Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  5. ^ McVey, Kurt. "New York City Artist And Curator Savannah Spirit Unveil Salacious New Exhibit." Forbes. January 11, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtmcvey/2017/01/11/nyc-artist-and-curator-savannah-spirit-wants-to-trigger-your-trump/#4d56386c328d.
  6. ^ a b Felix, Annie (October 24, 2016). "The Art of Thirst: Alexandra Rubinstein and Loud Female Sexuality". PAPER. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  7. ^ Felix, Annie (October 24, 2016). "The Art of Thirst: Alexandra Rubinstein and Loud Female Sexuality". PAPER. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Sisley, Dominique (January 12, 2017). "The erotic art show taking on Donald Trump". Dazed. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Gerstein, Julie (November 4, 2016). "An Artist Painted A Bunch of Famous Celeb Men Going Down on Women And It's Really Something". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  10. ^ Glassman, Thea (November 1, 2016). "What's Leonardo DiCaprio Like in Bed? Feminist Jewish Artist Imagines Answer". The Forward. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
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