‘Beautiful Surrender’

Rebekah Rubalcava

17 May - 3 June

Sweetness and violence coincide in this new body of paintings which document a process of catharsis for Rebekah in response to her upbringing in a strict religious household. Her paintings confront feelings of shame, anger, passion and desire and use the natural world, specifically the extreme weather conditions found in New Mexico, as a metaphor for her own emotive narratives, romanticised experiences and intrusive thoughts.

Rebekah’s idiosyncratic style arises from a variety of inspirations including the pastoral landscape of New Mexico and the ‘cheesy’ style of Hollywood film. She combines these in performative paintings which echo the tendency to theatricalise emotions and experiences in the brain, with figures lying melodramatically in fields as tornadoes approach or romantically kissing under the eye of a storm. Like movies, Rebekah’s paintings coincide with lessons, memories or revelations she may have come to terms with.

Despite each painting being a perfect mise-en-scéne which balances the delicate, dreamy and theatrical, much like a film still, each of Rebekah’s paintings hint at darker narratives beyond the canvas. A distinct personal symbolism points to hidden traumas, and in this body of work she grapples with toxic relationships, sexual shame and the difficulty of strict religion. The dark presence of phallic tornadoes throughout Beautiful Surrender illustrate sex and shame as well as the possibility of the freedom found in complete surrender. Similarly, the prevalence of geese in many of the works speak to family ties, the ruffling of feathers and the desire to escape.

Rebekah Rubalcava (b. 1996) is a self taught oil painter. Personally cathartic, her art is steeped in a subconscious dream world and her work gently divulges secrets of personal symbolism, intrusive thoughts, romanticized experiences and highly emotional narratives. Rebekah’s compositions feel delicate, dreamy and theatrical, at times disconcerting and ominous. It hints at a greater narrative that extends beyond the canvas.