Paul Ruiz, an artist working in Melbourne Australia, has quickly become one of my favorite artists working today. Having only launched his first solo show in 2005, his work speaks as if he has been painting for several lifetimes. It is not often that you find such bravery from someone so young. Three simple elements dominate Ruiz’s work, simplicity of form, strong graphic compositions, and bold colors. It is these three elements that make his work so beautifully complex.
Ruiz deconstructs the human form, tears it apart, and allows the eye to put it back together again. The creation and destruction of his under painting, leaves behind a ghostly human expression. His compositions are bold, with sensitivity to the space that defines us, defines the emotions of his subjects. Then with bold rich colors, he paints the light. The strokes are heavy, and help to solidify the form, almost anchor it.
The forms are thick, and weighty, yet with an incredible sensitivity to subtle human emotions. He works the underpaintings with passion, sometimes attacking his linen canvases with paint thinner, rags, and sometimes even sand paper. In Paul’s own words,” painting should always be prepared to confront the possibility of failure or destruction head-on. When there is nothing left to interrogate then I am done painting.” All that I can say is that his paintings are brave and sensitive, brave for the permanence of his marks, and yet sensitive to the fragility of human emotions.
