by Joseph Pomelapocha
Cuban artist and writer
pomelapocha1@gmail.com
Mainly equipped with concrete, Alexandra Rubiño also incorporates canvas, plaster cast, iron, paint, and recycled material to create her own sculptural world, which makes us go deep into a game of colors. She promotes nostalgia for cave paintings. Her discourse is convincing, original, imaginative, so much so that it forces the viewer to stop; it forces the viewer to imagine a bold and pretentious world. This is what certainly happens when, for example, we surrender to observing her work “Salida” (Exit) (1.20 x 0.60 cm.): far from leaving, as its name suggests, one goes deeper into it, wishing to grasp all the hope described in it. The work entitled “Sol” (Sun), on its part, illuminates the fantasy world we all carry inside us, -but which many a times we ignore how to let out. Alexandra tells us how to do this through the everlasting little girl dwelling inside her, producing a tangle of colors and youth that lets us look back with a smile, though aiming the future. Talent seems to have been born with her: she has continually been fond of artistically creating with different materials; after she finished her studies on Visual Arts and majoring in sculpture, she devoted equal efforts to designing concrete walls, and illustrating books. Following my analysis of Rubiño’s picturesque mission, I think viewers really like and enjoy the strong smell emanating from her work entitled “Perfume”, where a musical verb flourishes, so to speak, and one can feel the need to go hunting for this huge animal called communication.
In 60 x 40 cm, the artist defeats differences, and gives pleasure to the soul. She extracts the materials she habitually uses from the area where she lives, like clay from Chorrillo river. Her murals, ideal for decorating gardens, are a proof of her pride to be an artist from San Luis, and the expression of her sense of belonging to Juana Koslay. This all is highlighted by her work entitled “Argentina”, a 30 x 20 cm canvas, which offers a sample of Argentinean folklore and national colors. Since I mention Argentina’s national symbols, I would like to raise my glass in a toast for Argentina’s Flag Creation Day, and this country’s Independence Day from Havana Congratulations! And being in love with Alexandra Rubiño’s creative beauty, I would like to tell you what I could perceive at the Independent Art Show - CulTurAr Habana 2010 - , which took place in Habana Libre Hotel. “Escarabajo Azul” (Blue Beetle) reveals Alexandra’s look to the past world, the heart beat of which she revives today in her sculpture. With a look both steady and optimistic, this work hides Alexandra’s smile with the intention of giving Chorrillo’s waters as a gift to the viewer, so that the thirst of a world menaced by wars and epidemics can be quenched. Thank you, Alexandra Rubiño, for your love of colors!
