Artistic career
Rubinstein currently works out of a studio in Brooklyn, New York. Rubinstein created a number of oil paintings following the realist tradition which were displayed 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. [4] The frames were particularly striking as they focused on women's faces during sex, which was historically uncommon. There was a focus in the videos on women. [4] 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. [4]
Celebrity Cunnilingus (2014)
This series of oil paintings includes a variety of male celebrities during coitus including Drake, Pope Francis, Jon Hamm, Justin Bieber, Tom Hanks, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, [2] Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco and Barack Obama. Within this series, Rubinstein aims to empower women through the portrayal of pleasure from a female point of view. Rubinstein created this series after realizing there was a lack of focus on women in pornography. [5] Rubinstein also includes herself in most of her works, particularly prominently in this series, to tell her story. [6]
Thirsty (2015)
This series focused on the nature of heterosexual female sexuality through oil-on-panel images of '70s male porn stars. Rubinstein hoped to rattle the art world by representing women as the consumers of nude male imagery, rather than depicting women as objects being consumed. [7] 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. [8] The imagery promotes the idea that women are independent and can also have a beer, which is considered to be a male beverage. [7]
Hands off my Cuntry (January 11, 2017)
This exhibition was curated by Savannah Spirit and displayed at the Undercurrent Projects in New York City. [9] The show was featured in Spirit's HOTTER THAN JULY series and was displayed a week before Donald Trump's inauguration. [9] The collection focused on erotic imagery and was designed to poke fun at Trump's right wing cabinet. [9] 12 different artists contributed art pieces to the exhibition and 20 percent of the profits from the show went toward Planned Parenthood. [9] 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. [9] 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." [9] 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.
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