RUBEENA RATCLIFFE  New Abstract Paintings

Rubeena Ratcliffe’s new abstract paintings follow a similar approach: a refined use of colour and spiritual aspects, both philosophical and pictorial. The titles are taken from children’s books and the collection is titled ‘Blub Bluuub Bluuuuuuub’.

I find myself becoming more private as a person art being my voice. The work reflects my interest in the spiritual, something higher than ourselves. Though my life is mostly devoted to my three children, I’ve found that I can communicate to others through my art.

When asked what she hopes people will experience from one of her paintings, she answered “that it brings them to some place of solace. We are a visual society and there is so much good stuff and bad stuff around us. I want people to look at my work and feel connected in an unexplained manner and hopefully in a beautiful way.”

Rubeena Ratcliffe (b. 1982) creates narrative paintings that often focus on the solitary female protagonist. In these intimate spacial portraits, Ratcliffe captures the figure immersed in various mundane pursuits and moments of deep reflection, between themes of tedious and monotonous versus spiritual and imaginative. Her paintings uncover hidden narratives and conjure dreamlike spaces, often within the interior domestic sphere. With a background in Architecture, Ratcliffe paints with an acute awareness from the female gaze, employing deeply colourful hues and nuanced details with her use of hatch work.

Rubeena Ratcliffe received her Masters of Architecture from Dalhousie University, Halifax Nova Scotia, and has studied and worked in Canada, United States, India and the Netherlands. Ratcliffe lives and works in Vancouver with her husband and three young children.