Please join us Tuesday, October 1 at 6–8pm for the opening of Irwin Rubin: ‘60s Polychrome, curated by Carmelle Safdie at SVA Flatiron Project Space.

Irwin Rubin (1930–2006) was a Brooklyn-born artist and educator. Irwin Rubin: ‘60s Polychrome focuses on the painted woodwork and collages Rubin produced between 1960 and 1966. The exhibition includes his boxed constructions made up of cropped pegs and bisected rods, assembled into lollypop gardens, alien alphabets and kaleidoscopic architectural structures atop which Rubin conducts planar explorations of color harmony and optical phenomenon. Contrasting these works in relief are intimate compositions made with cut paper, printed fabric, lace and pressed leaves. Both the constructions and collages celebrate play, craft, material transformation and movement, establishing practices that became foundational to Rubin’s pedagogical approach to Color Theory. In addition to the historic works on view, the exhibition includes Ben DuVall’s HTML/CSS Painting (after Rubin), 2024, on a monitor facing West 21st Street.

Irwin Rubin: ‘60s Polychrome marks the first time Rubin’s works are on public view since the 1960s, and will be accompanied by an exhibition catalog co-authored by Carmelle Safdie and Robert Wiesenberger. Exhibition and catalog design by Darling Green.