RUBEENA RATCLIFFE New Abstract Paintings
JUNE 4 – 25, 2022
Reception: Thursday June 9th, 5 – 7 pm.

Photo: Gillian Stevens
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’.

RUBEENA RATCLIFFE
HERE COMES THE CAT
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
72″ X 48″
RUBEENA RATCLIFFE
NOBODY KNOWS
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
48″ X 36″

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.

RUBEENA RATCLIFFE
ALL FOR ONE HOUSE
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
72″ X 48″
ALL FOR ONE HOUSE (detail)


RUBEENA RATCLIFFE
GO TOMORROW
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
48″ x 36″
… that [my work] brings people 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.

Installation photo: Anita Bonnarens
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.