Gideon Rubin

Gideon Rubin is a London-based painter whose work explores themes of memory, history, and identity. His practice operates at the intersection of figuration and abstraction, often working from photographic source material such as vintage film stills, personal photo albums, anonymous images from the internet, and his own photographs. Rubin's paintings are fragments of a larger story, moments in time that encourage personal reflection and multiple interpretations. By distancing his subjects from their original context, he allows the viewer to create their own narratives, drawing on personal histories and emotional connections.

Rubin’s paintings often revisit scenes of childhood and adolescence, recurring motifs that are deeply reflective and introspective. The figures he paints remain slightly unknowable, inviting the viewer to focus on the subtle details— the tilt of a head, the gesture of a hand, or the surrounding space— that make up the larger, more hidden narrative.