“A Minor” New Collab Show by Rubin 415 and Joe Iurato @ C.A.V.E Gallery

Sep 14, 20163 min read

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato ©2016 A Minor, C.A.V.E Gallery, Photo credit- JulieFaith, All rights reserved.

“A Minor” New Collab Show by Rubin 415 and Joe Iurato

By Julie Faith

C.A.V.E Gallery 1108 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

September 3 – September 23, 2016

I’m pretty sure I have never walked into a gallery and thought to myself, “yep, yep. I’ll take everything, thanks! Pack it all up to go” Until now, that is. The new collaboration show, “A Minor” by Rubin415 and Joe Iurato at C.A.V.E Gallery is truly magnificent. The music of the blues infuses the exhibition and inspires the artists. Rubin and Iurato are virtuosos; from the theme to thumbtacks, everything about this unadorned yet at the same time intricate show is masterfully arranged and superbly luminous.

A-Minor is the storyteller’s chord that makes a blues man blue. For this new exhibition – titled “A-MINOR” – Rubin415 and Joe Iurato celebrate the bluesy tones in music that inspire their artwork. Rather than perceiving the tones of the A-Minor chord as melancholic and therefore inherently sad, the artists find these melancholic sounds to be enlightening in their ability to create a pensive mood that inspires imaginative and reflective thought. – C.A.V.E. Gallery

RUBIN415 rubin415.com Swedish born and Brooklyn based painter Rubin415 is inspired by classic wild style graffiti and the urban configurations of the cities he inhabits. His signature abstract geometric style is easily recognized on the street and in galleries across the world. Rubin’s second solo exhibition with C.A.V.E. Gallery includes 12 brand new hand-pulled screen-prints plus several breathtaking acrylic on wood pieces.

Using his trademark monochromatic palettes, clean lines, razor-sharp edged shapes, and often adding a shock of color, the works are reminiscent of Rubin’s Scandinavian background yet retain a strong graffiti sensibility. Mystics often use labyrinths to help them achieve a meditative state; travelling the path from beginning to end, outside distraction and noise fall away, and the mind quiets. Rich with depth and tone, Rubin’s paintings elicit a similar effect in that they draw you in and quiet the mind, facilitating tranquility and contemplation.

Joe Iurato joeiurato.com New Jersey based artist Joe Iurato is known for bewitching still-life installations comprised of aerosol and wood-cut stencils based on his real-life experiences. A master of clever placement and perspective, Iurato’s site-specific pieces tell intimate stories that resonate emotion. This exhibition at C.A.V.E. Gallery, his first solo show in Los Angeles, is centered around creating a pensive mood that inspires imaginative and reflective thought. And, upon entering the gallery, you are immediately submersed in just that.

There are 12 assemblages plus a series of Iurato’s gorgeous photographs that chronicle a range of dispositions, from playful to contemplative to heavy-hearted. Your eye is immediately drawn to Iurato’s “Go It Alone”. The look on the boy’s face is consummate willful toddler. A six-and-a-half foot toddler, that is. Using reclaimed wood as a backdrop for many of his pieces adds visual and emotional warmth to the otherwise black and white paintings. As the mother of sons, I found “The River” and “Houses Are Just Made of Wood” to be nostalgic and charming but the little rascals of “Facades” and “The Seafarer” simply radiate the mischievous imagination I’m so in love with in my own boys. In direct contrast, “First Train Home”, “God’s Away On Business”, and “Death Valley Blues” evoke a strong aura of the blues. If you stand real close to them and listen super hard, I swear you can hear that A minor chord reverberating from their depths.