// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Patrick Rubinstein? A jewel of a guy, a real gem.
Patrick Rubinstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960 (age 65–66) |
| Known for | Relief art, Optical art |
| Movement | Kinetic art, Op art, Pop art |
| Website | www.patrickrubinstein.com |
Patrick Rubinstein (born 1960) is a French artist whose work combines elements of Kinetic art, Op art, and Pop art.[1] He creates relief-based artworks that display different images depending on the viewer's position, using folded, three-dimensional supports combined with optical illusion.[2][3][4]
Early life
[edit]Rubinstein was born in Paris in 1960 and grew up in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district.[5] As a child, he visited the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou, which sparked his interest in art. His father, an art collector and amateur painter, introduced him to folded relief structures that produced changing images; his mother encouraged his interest in cinema.[6][7]
In the late 1970s, Rubinstein began making optical artworks using folded supports made of photographic strips, which reveal different images depending on the viewer's position without electronic or mechanical components.[5][7][8] He sold his first artwork at eighteen, around which time he became interested in merging faces, using two portraits of members of the same family to explore their shared and distinguishing features.[6][9]
He has cited Victor Vasarely, Yaacov Agam, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús Rafael Soto, Bridget Riley, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jean-Michel Basquiat as influences, along with Renaissance painting, Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism, geometric abstraction, and Pop art.[10][11]
Before becoming a full-time artist, Rubinstein designed clothing collections, leaving the fashion industry in 2007 to focus on his art practice.[7]
Career
[edit]Rubinstein makes relief artworks that combine figurative imagery with optical effects, using folded supports made of angled panels that display different images depending on viewing position.[2][10] He arranges multiple images on angled or accordion-like supports so that two or three separate compositions appear depending on viewing angle: one format alternates between two images, and another shows three compositions—one frontal and two lateral.[4][5][8]
His work depicts musicians, actors, athletes, historical figures, butterflies, and typography, and includes reinterpretations of existing artworks such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.[7][12] It also references cinema, photography, and popular culture.[4][12] Butterflies and the word LOVE recur as motifs throughout his work.[13][14]
Around 2019, Rubinstein began incorporating Art Nouveau influences and metallic materials, including gold leaf, silver leaf, sequins, and reflective surfaces, which change the appearance of the compositions under different lighting.[3][6][10][14]
In 2013, Art Actuel ranked Rubinstein in its list of artists by sales in France.[4][15][16]
Artistic style
[edit]Rubinstein's work combines kinetic art, Op art, and Pop art with figurative imagery, drawing on Renaissance painting, Surrealism, geometric abstraction, photography, and cinema.[6][17] His compositions tend to feature recognizable portraits and cultural references rather than purely abstract geometric patterns.[11][17]
Rubinstein describes two compositional methods. The Double Principle combines two images on an accordion-like support so that each becomes visible from an opposite viewing angle, with transitional effects appearing between them. The Triple Principle uses three images—one frontal and two lateral—that become visible from different viewing positions.[5][7][8][18]
Many of his later works use 22-karat gold leaf, silver leaf, and reflective materials.[3][14]
Collections
[edit]Rubinstein's work has been exhibited at the Porrentruy Optical Art Museum (POPA) in Switzerland, the Copelouzos Art Museum in Athens, the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles, and Dalí Paris.[3][14] The Copelouzos Art Museum acquired his work Music Madness.[4]
Philanthropy
[edit]Rubinstein has donated artworks to fundraising events held by the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation, including Paris est Magique! for the foundation's 2017 gala[19][20] and Liberté–Égalité–Mbappé for a 2019 auction.[21][22]
Exhibitions
[edit]Rubinstein has exhibited in galleries, museums, and art fairs in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East.[23]
In 2014, he held Meeting with the Giants, a retrospective exhibition in Singapore.[17] Later that year, Opera Gallery in Seoul exhibited his work alongside that of Seen and Mr. Brainwash.[24] In 2022, Dalí Paris exhibited Optical Games, a series of works by Rubinstein made in response to Salvador Dali's work.[25][26] In 2025, Dalí Paris presented Dalí x Rubinstein: Crossed Illusions, examining connections between his work and Salvador Dalí.[13][27][28] In 2026, Rubinstein took part in Beyond the Visible, a joint exhibition with Yaacov Agam at Bruno Gallery in Singapore.[11]
Solo exhibitions
[edit]- 2014 – Meeting with the Giants, Bartoux Gallery, Singapore
- 2016 – Kinetic Pop Art, Galerie Montmartre
- 2017 – OP ART, Perahia Gallery
- 2017 – Kinetic Pop Art, Momentum Gallery
- 2018 – Optical Art Show, Bel Air Fine Art
- 2018 – Exception, Galerie Montmartre
- 2018 – A Tribute to Art, Mensing Gallery
- 2019 – Patrick Rubinstein, Galerie de Bellefeuille
- 2020 – Patrick Rubinstein's Imaginary Museum, Galerie Montmartre
- 2022 – Patrick Rubinstein fait son cinéma, Galerie Montmartre
- 2023 – LOVE IN MOTION, Ode to Art, Singapore
- 2024 – An Ode to the Masters, Gormleys, Dublin
- 2024 – Patrick Rubinstein: Kinetic Op Art, Galerie Mickael Marciano
- 2025 – Illusions croisées (Crossed Illusions), Dalí Paris
- 2025 – Timeless Visions, Gormleys, Belfast
Group exhibitions
[edit]- 2016 – Pop & Street Art, Opera Gallery
- 2016 – 16th Artistic Edition, Bartoux Gallery
- 2017 – Meeting with the Giants, Skoufa Gallery
- 2017 – Art Up! Contemporary Art Fair, Perahia Gallery
- 2017 – Art Thessaloniki International Contemporary Art Fair, Skoufa Gallery
- 2017 – SCOPE Art Show, Vivendi Gallery
- 2018 – Remaster, Galerie Montmartre
- 2018 – Fireworks of Art, Mensing Gallery
- 2018 – 17th Edition SCOPE Art Show, Vivendi Gallery / Hazelton Fine Art Galleries
- 2018 – Art New York, Mark Hachem Gallery
- 2019 – Icons Collective Exhibition, Galerie Montmartre
- 2019 – The Wild Walls Group Exhibition, Galerie Montmartre
- 2020 – POP MIX, Viktoria's Gallery
- 2020 – HOPE – An Uplifting Summer Exhibition, Cha Cha Gallery
- 2021 – VOLTA Basel, Mark Hachem Gallery
- 2022 – The Woman: An Art Icon, POPA – Porrentruy Optical Art Museum and Bel Air Fine Art
- 2022 – Contemporary Istanbul, Mark Hachem Gallery
- 2022 – From Street to Blue-Chip, Daniele Comelli Art
- 2022 – The Energy of Colors, TLV Fine Art
- 2023 – Winter Show, Gormleys
- 2023 – Spring Group Exhibition, Gormleys
- 2023 – Shades of Spring, AbrahamArt
- 2023 – Art + Soul, Gormleys
- 2023 – Kaleidoscope – A World in Color, Clarendon Fine Art
- 2023 – My Heart Skips a Beat, Clarendon Fine Art
- 2023 – Gormleys at Charlemont Square, Gormleys
- 2024 – Lille Art Up!, Galerie Montmartre
- 2024 – Masterpieces Summer Group Show, Outsiders Galerie
- 2024 – Art for Urban Regeneration, Daniele Comelli Art
- 2024 – Art + Soul: International Art and Sculpture Exhibition, Gormleys
- 2024 – Gormleys at Charlemont Square, Gormleys
- 2024 – Moderne Art Fair, Mark Hachem Gallery
- 2024 – Art Miami, Galerie Montmartre
- 2025 – Art Palm Beach + Contemporary, Ai Bo Gallery
- 2025 – Art Central, Tanya Baxter Contemporary
- 2025 – Art + Soul: International Art and Sculpture Exhibition, Gormleys
- 2025 – Contemporary Istanbul, Mark Hachem Gallery
- 2025 – Art Miami, Ai Bo Gallery
- 2026 – Love is in the Air, Markowicz Fine Art
- 2026 – Make it POP!, Markowicz Fine Art
- 2026 – Beyond the Visible, Bruno Gallery, Singapore (with Yaacov Agam)
References
[edit]- ↑ "Patrick Rubinstein, the prodigy of kinetic art". Ouest-France.fr (in French). 2014-04-29. Archived from the original on 2024-12-15. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 "Patrick Rubinstein or the sensitive rebirth of Kinetic Op Art". Le Journal Des Arts (in French). 2025-10-28. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 4 "Patrick Rubinstein: One Artwork, Three Stories". The Independent. 2025-09-18. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Patrick Rubinstein and Kinetic Pop Art". Expertisez Enchères (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 4 Tan, Charmaine (2023-02-22). "#MensFolioMeets Kinetic Pop Artist Patrick Rubinstein". Men's Folio. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 4 "Patrick Rubinstein: In Conversation". Gormleys Gallery. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Iwasaki, Scott (2022-11-16). "The optical kinetic art of Patrick Rubenstein". Park Record. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 "Patrick Rubinstein" (PDF). Gefen Gallery. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Patrick Rubinstein - Between pop art and op'art". The most beautiful interiors. 2013.
- 1 2 3 Lee, Jenny (2025-04-11). "French contemporary artist brings his perspective-bending works of art to Northern Ireland for the first time". The Irish News. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 Suresh, Sanjeeva (2026-03-06). "Bruno Gallery Singapore Presents Kinetic Art Exhibition Dubbed "Beyond the Visible"". LUXUO. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 "French Pop Art in the best American tradition". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 "Patrick Rubinstein in dialogue with Salvador Dalí: a kinetic exhibition at the Dalí Museum Paris". Le Figaro (in French). 2025-09-25. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- 1 2 3 4 Ashkenazi, Jarone (2025-05-20). "Patrick Rubinstein: A Visionary of Kinetic Optical Art". JustLuxe. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Patrick Rubinstein - Biography". 5Art Gallery. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Top 100 Auction Sales Leaders". Art Actuel. December 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Patrick Rubinstein in Singapore". Art Actuel. 2014-05-22.
- ↑ "Get into the mood with Patrick Rubinstein's "Love in Motion" exhibition at Ode To Art". Tatler. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "The PSG Foundation raises 660,000 euros at an auction". 2017-05-16. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "660,000 euros for the PSG Foundation". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ Bailleul, Alexandre (2019-05-22). "Discover the exceptional lots featured in the auction organized for the PSG Children First Foundation Gala Dinner". Sport Buzz Business (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "PSG: Over 1.2 million raised at the Foundation Gala". RMC Sport (in French). 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Yaacov Agam: Kinetic art founder shows in Singapore". The Straits Times. 2026-03-04. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Patrick Rubinstein in Seoul". Actual Art. October 2, 2014.
- ↑ ""Being captivated by this art of surprise": Patrick Rubinstein's optical illusions at Dalí Paris. Interview with the museum director". Connaissance des Arts (in French). 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Optical illusions: come and discover the new temporary exhibition at Dalí Paris". Pariszigzag.fr (in French). 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ Rondet, Julien (2025-09-30). "The exhibition on the meeting of surrealism and kinetic art at Dalí Paris has been extended!". Pariszigzag.fr (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Dali Paris Welcomes Patrick Rubinstein". Dali Paris. Retrieved 2026-08-02.