Sterling Ruby's ECLPSE series is a compelling exploration of color, form, and abstraction, executed through collage and paint on cardboard. This series showcases Ruby's intricate approach to blending materials and colors, creating large-scale works that exude both intensity and meticulousness. Each piece within the ECLPSE series carries a unique combination of hues and geometric arrangements, emphasizing Ruby's ability to navigate the realms of fluidity and stasis, as well as expressionism and minimalism. The works such as ECLPSE (RED), ECLPSE (BGRB), and ECLPSE (YRBGB) from 2015, among others, demonstrate the artist's fascination with the interplay of light and shadow, simulating the transient effects of an eclipse with striking visual impact (Xavier Hufkens).
Sterling Ruby, born in 1972 on Bitburg Air Base, Germany, to an American father and a Dutch mother, has developed a multifaceted artistic practice that spans a broad range of media including sculpture, drawing, collage, ceramics, painting, and video. He is known for engaging deeply with issues related to autobiography, art history, and societal pressures. Ruby’s extensive body of work examines tensions across various dichotomies, such as the abject versus the pristine and expressionism against minimalism. His move to the United States at a young age introduced him to cultural and artistic practices like Amish quilt-making and Pennsylvania redware pottery, which have influenced his work in soft sculpture and ceramics (Gagosian).
Ruby's diverse background and experiences have informed his approach to creating art, allowing him to draw inspiration from the landscape and conceptual framework of Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works. This is evident in his ECLPSE series, where the vibrancy and dynamism of each piece reflect a complex interaction of color, form, and texture, underscoring his continual exploration of the painterly sublime through acts of defacement and urban graffiti. Sterling Ruby’s work, including the ECLPSE series, challenges and expands the boundaries between different artistic mediums, contributing significantly to contemporary discussions on art and its capacity to engage with and reflect upon the conditions of modern society (Gagosian).