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    Ruby Sky Stiler Reassesses Women’s Role in Art History in Geometric Portraits

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    “Artist with Green Palette” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 34 inches. All images © Ruby Sky Stiler, courtesy of the artist and alexander Gray Associates, New York, shared with permission

    Ruby Sky Stiler Reassesses Women’s Role in Art History in Geometric Portraits

    February 27, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Up close, the irregularly gridded, geometric backgrounds of Ruby Sky Stiler’s paintings evoke patchwork or the patterns of agricultural landscapes seen aerially. Intricate patterns intersect in each rectangle, hinting at floral or decorative motifs that, when viewed from further away, appear almost topographical. Merging with this groundwork are boldly delineated women who often directly return the viewer’s gaze.

    Reassessing the history of Western art, Stiler positions women in what she has previously described as “the empowered role as The Artist.” Rather than muses or objectified subjects, she imbues her figures with qualities of control, liberty, and leisure.

    “Woman with Children in Blue” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 50 inches

    Recently on view at Frieze LA with Alexander Gray Associates, Stiler’s paintings continue to reenvision 20th-century abstraction, especially the predominantly male Cubist movement that burgeoned around 1907 and 1908. She turns the tables on the historically gendered dichotomy in fine art, transferring the role of women as subjects of paintings to that of creator.

    In works like “Women with Children in Blue,” Stiler portrays nude figures in repose or with children, emphasizing another potent definition of women as creators and caregivers. Through mosaic-like compositions, she challenges art historical tropes and reasserts more inclusive, contemporary definitions of gender roles in art.

    Stiler employs a meticulous graphite transfer process to apply patterned outlines to her pieces, nodding to textile design—a craft tradition also historically trivialized in the art world as “women’s work.” Pastel acrylic hues fill out bodies and backgrounds, while bold outlines evocative of minimalist Bauhaus design clarify bodies and objects.

    Stiler is currently preparing a solo exhibition with Alexander Gray Associates scheduled for November. Explore more on her website and Instagram.

    “Two Women in Sienna and Umber, with Red Outline” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 50 inches

    “Blue Woman” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on wood panel, 18 x 15 1/2 inches

    “Seated Blue Figure (with turquoise and red outline)” (2024), canvas, acrylic, graphite, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 34 inches

    The artist transfers graphite patterns onto canvas

    Stiler displays preparatory sketches in her studio

    Swatches are labeled for use in a painting

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      in Art

      Tens of Thousands of Individual Dots Bring Ornamental Rugs to Life in Antonio Santín’s Paintings

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      “Momo” (2024), oil on canvas, 63 x 86 5/8 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Marc Straus Gallery, New York

      Tens of Thousands of Individual Dots Bring Ornamental Rugs to Life in Antonio Santín’s Paintings

      January 9, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      From grid-like woven patterns to intertwined strands of fringe, Antonio Santín’s hyperrealistic oil paintings (previously) look incredibly similar to the ornamental carpets they’re modeled on. By studying real rugs and the way they scrunch, fold, and interact with light, he transfers these qualities to canvas. The overall designs, however, are a product of the artist’s imagination.

      Santín trained as a sculptor, and his eye for shapes and the power of contrast lent itself to paintings with tactile textures and a dimensionally illusory quality. “In the past two years, as his technical skills allowed for far more detail than is found on a sewn carpet, he began to invent the entire image,” says Marc Straus, who is presenting Santín’s work in the artist’s seventh solo show with the gallery.

      Detail of “Puente de plata”

      The artist continues to employ a precisely calibrated pneumatic compressor that allows him to apply oil pigments millimeters at a time. Tens of thousands of individual dots are arranged to create a consistent rhythm across the entire surface.

      New paintings in Puente de plata, or “silver bridge,” celebrate the relationship between abstraction and pure pattern, reveling in vibrant color and intricacy in works that are more personal. The show opens tomorrow and continues through March 1 in New York. Explore more on the gallery’s website and Santín’s Instagram.

      “Puente de plata” (2024), oil on canas, 63 x 85 5/8 inches

      “Tafalla” (2023), oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches

      “Victoria” (2024), oil on canvas, 94 1/2 x 78 3/4 inches

      Detail of “Victoria”

      Detail of “Victoria”

      “Carambola” (2024), oil on canvas, 70 7/8 x 78 3/4 inches

      “Aldealengua” (2024), oil on canvas, 25 3/8 x 21 1/2 x 2 inches (framed)

      Detail of “Aldealengua”

      “Puente de plata” (2024), oil on canas, 63 x 85 5/8 inches

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    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      A Vibrant Ndebele Mural by Esther Mahlangu Illuminates Unity at Serpentine North

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      “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” (2024), Serpentine North Garden. Photo by George Darrell. Image courtesy of Serpentine and The Melrose Gallery, shared with permission

      A Vibrant Ndebele Mural by Esther Mahlangu Illuminates Unity at Serpentine North

      October 10, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      For more than eight decades, Dr. Esther Mahlangu has been creating large-scale, site-specific works that draw on the artistic traditions of Ndebele culture.

      Known for her vibrant, patterned compositions, Mahlangu learned techniques for decorating houses from her mother and grandmother while growing up in South Africa. She mixes natural pigments with clay, soil, and cow dung to paint directly on the exteriors of structures in her village.

      Photo by George Darrell

      Ndebele house painting emerged in the mid-18th century when the matrilineal tribe began to build huts out of mud rather than grass. Women applied colorful patterns to the walls to not only brighten the village but also communicate with others.

      The geometric shapes, characterized by bold, black outlines, serve as a visual language to express personal values, prayers, or major life events.

      Mahlangu paints by hand without using stencils or masking tape, employing chicken feathers and various brushes to create painstaking geometries that preserve a handmade quality. Over time, she has also created numerous works on canvas, using acrylic to broaden the range of hues in her work.

      Esther Mahlangu photographed by Clint Strydom, courtesy of The Melrose Gallery

      At Serpentine North in Hyde Park, London, Mahlangu’s first installation the U.K. was unveiled this week on a wall in the gallery’s garden.

      Comprising six wooden panels, the monumental mural celebrates unity and community and taps into an Ndebele philosophy: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which translates to: “I am because you are.”

      The mural remains on view through September 28, 2025. Plan your visit on the Serpentine website, and learn more about Mahlangu’s remarkable work and career on her website and Instagram.

      Photo by Clint Strydom, courtesy of The Melrose Gallery

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