Israel Rubinstein

Half Horsepower

1980

Israel Rubinstein was born in 1944 in Petach-Tikvah, Israel. Since his very early childhood Israel's father, who was a painter and a graphic artist, was aware of his son's talent. He sent the boy to various painting courses and introduced him to his artist friends, who helped the young Rubinstein arrange his first exhibition at the Emmanuel Hall of his hometown Rammat-Gan. Like all Israelis, Rubinstein was drafted to the Israeli army at the age of 18. He spent two and a half years in the armed forces. Upon his discharge, Rubinstein went on to study at the Institute of Art in Tel-Aviv with renewed energy. He studied there for three years. Those years provided him with the foundation to his artistic career. In 1967 Rubinstein took part in a group exhibit of Israeli artists at the Z.O.A. (Zionist Organization of America) House in Tel-Aviv. Thereafter, he left for a one-man exhibition in Louisville, Kentucky. Up until his trip to the U.S. Rubinstein was using oil colors on canvas, making thick layers of spatula. The main topic of his paintings was the City of Jaffa and its beggars. He came back from Kentucky with new inspiration for a change in his thinking and style. He was particularly influenced by the well-known masters, in whose work he found similarities to his own ideas. His fruitful imagination and his inborn sense of humor helped him in his new endeavors and became part of his new art. Rubinstein's techniques started to change as well. Instead of thick layers, he started making transparent ones. In addition, he started creating gentle and gradual shades. In 1974 Rubinstein exhibited in his work at the Yael Zeevi Gallery in Rammat-Aviv, Israel. In 1985 Rubinstein settled down with his wife, Liat, in New York, where he found fertile soil for his artistic development. All his numerous exhibitions around the country were tremendously successful and the paintings were sold to corporate and private collectors.