phraim Rubenstein’s still life series of stacked books represent a motif the artist has continually returned to throughout his career. As a familiar subject, they have an ability to be very expressive. States the artist, “there is something very human about books, they have spines just as we do.” In keeping with the still-life genre, Rubenstein’s aging books serve as both an exercise in formal considerations, and a message of mortality. However, in repetition, they begin to form a narrative. States the artist, “What I like about a series is that it can act as a means of narrative, a way to defeat the still-life quality of the painter’s medium itself.”

Often painted in towering piles, the artist paints arranges his stacked books with regard to color and form, and proceeds to paint them as directly as possible. States the artist, “The world is so beautiful and complex, it seems arrogant to presume to improve on what we see; I just do my best to capture the richness I find in the world around me.”

• Books XVI, oil on canvas, 16 x 9", 2007
• Books: Pile XXX, oil on canvas, 8 x 20", 2008

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• Book Pile XXVII, oil on linen, 38 x 30", 2008
• Books: Pile XXXI, oil on canvas, 9 x 12", 2008

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• Books, Mirrors, and Lenses III (Night), oil on linen, 48 x 72", 2008

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• Bookpile XX, pastel on paper, 40 x 28", 2008
• Bookpile XXVI, oil on linen, 16 x 14", 2008

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