RUBEM ROBIERB

1976. Maranhão, Brazil

Rubem Robierb

Rubem Robierb is a Brazilian born, Miami based artist whose work deals with contemporary society and its icons of consumerism.

He is one of the gallery’s few figurative artists. His colorful and digitally manipulated photographic images speak of the contrasts between human vs. nature, masculine vs. feminine, chaos and order, creation and destruction, among other dichotomies, dealing critically with the subtlety and harshness of human values.

This can be seen in his Bullet and Butterfly series (2012-13), in which butterflies’ bodies are converted into machine guns and bullets, and in Show me the money (2011), where one hundred dollar bills are turned into maps, a home, or anything money can buy.

In his sharp and bold images, he often eliminates all superfluous background details in order to focus mainly on the photographic subject.

Robierb also makes digital collages that embrace themes of religion and pop culture, such as in the Pop Saints series (2009) a series of statues whose faces are those of celebrities rather than the Catholic saints the sculptures depict.

The economy and its relevance in our society are issues that interest Robierb, who focuses on icons of contemporary society and examines America as a socio-cultural model for his edgy, political and critical works.

Rubem Robierb began his creative career as a poet, however he soon shifted to photography, where he had a long career in the realm of advertising and fashion while simultaneously developing his body of work as an artist.

He began exhibiting in France in 2005 and since then has built an international exhibition record including a solo show in 2012 at the Curator’s Voice Gallery in Miami and at the Emmanuel Fremin Gallery in New York the same year.

He was awarded several prizes at the 2012 International Photography Awards and his works are represented in collections and galleries in New York, Miami, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Milan, Paris, Monaco and Zurich.