Being in a Lone Space
BEING IN A LONE SPACE
Painting by Giustina Surbone and Robin Ross
January 09, 2008. New York, NY. Tribes Gallery is pleased to announce Being In A Lone Space, a two person exhibition of paintings by Brooklyn artists Giustina Surbone and Robin Ross, on view from February 2 – February 28, 2008. The opening reception will take place on Feb. 2 from 6-9 pm and is free and open to the public. Tribes Gallery is located at 285 East Third Street (between Ave. C and Ave. D) in New York City.
Being in a lone space; a solitary existence within the eternity of space, with its echoes, vibrations and tones reflecting fundamental nature and spirit. This show features the paintings of Giustina Surbone and Robin Ross. Both painters work in oil on canvas and express starkness in their work by placing their often solitary figures against indefinite backgrounds.
Surbone’s paintings represent the psychological in human beings. Her work is about paint and visual expression, with one running theme: people are often outcast because of their eccentricities, sexual identity, or other aspects of their humanity. Helen Harris in the New York Times (April 1995) described Surbone’s painting “Ravaged” as, “…a woman wizened with age, depicted with weathered skin hanging from her diminutive frame, nevertheless retains an imposing presence. The artist retains her subject’s inherent dignity, which outlasts the degradation of the outer shell.”
Ross’ expressionistic portraits are spiritual in nature incorporating lone figures in atmospheric backgrounds. Her work references the mystical relationship between the animal, spirit and human world. Influenced by the abstract expressionists and Rembrandt, her luminous surfaces transform each painting into dreamtime. Ross is a 2007 Sage Brush Award recipient, presented to encourage the continuation of her unusual work.
Tribes Gallery serves as a venue for underexposed artists as well as a networking center and locus for the development of new talent. The space was created in 1993 within A Gathering of the Tribes, a nonprofit arts and cultural organization dedicated to excellence in the arts from the perspective of diversity. Tribes Executive Director and founder Steve Cannon has been active in the multicultural artistic community on the Lower East Side in New York City for almost four decades. He is the curator of many reading series and art shows held at Tribes Gallery.