Sterling Ruby's TURBINE series, initiated in 2021, represents a significant development in the artist's exploration of painting and collage. Exhibited at Gagosian in New York from November 10 to December 23, 2022, this body of work converges several of Ruby’s artistic concerns and methodologies, employing a mix of materials like acrylic, oil, and cardboard on canvas. The TURBINE series evolves from his earlier WIDW paintings, moving away from their defined vertical structures to embrace energetic, intersecting diagonals. This shift in composition suggests dynamic and chaotic forces at play, evoking natural and human-made turbulences like hurricanes, explosions, and wars, pushing the elements toward the canvas edges (Gagosian) (GalleriesNow) (FAD Magazine).
Ruby intended for the TURBINE paintings to capture a sense of turbulence, frenzy, and upheaval, reflecting the charged atmosphere of contemporary life without being explicitly narrative. The artworks, with titles like "TURBINE. CICADA KILLER." and "TURBINE. SHAKING HAND WITH BOMBS (RIGHT).," use abstraction to hint at broader allegories for social and ideological tensions. Influences from movements such as Futurism and Russian Constructivism, known for their celebration of modernity and technological progress, are evident in the works’ emphasis on speed and self-destruction. Ruby specifically acknowledges historical works like Giacomo Balla’s "The Spell Is Broken" and El Lissitzky’s "Prounenraum" (Proun Room), drawing parallels between their revolutionary spirit and his own artistic inquiries (Gagosian) (GalleriesNow).
The creation process of the TURBINE series also reflects a continuity and evolution of Ruby’s practice. The paintings are produced horizontally, a technique he has used in previous series, allowing for the accumulation of studio detritus and footprints to mark the canvases, adding layers of meaning and texture. The incorporation of cardboard, a material Ruby has previously used in his EXHM series, undergoes a transformation in TURBINES. In these works, cardboard fragments, with their hard edges, are juxtaposed against smudged and feathered paint, creating a dynamic and multihued visual effect that suggests a state of constant motion—akin to elements caught in a cyclone (Gagosian) (FAD Magazine).
The TURBINE series exemplifies Sterling Ruby’s ongoing engagement with the material possibilities of painting and collage, as well as his interest in capturing the tumultuous essence of our times through abstract forms. The series stands as a testament to Ruby’s ability to merge various elements of his artistic vocabulary into new, compelling compositions that challenge and expand the definitions of painting.
