From October 30 to November 2, The Drawing Room at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood becomes a gallery for Fragmentalism: A Language of Human Connection, a pop-up exhibition of new and recent work by Ruben Dario.
Fragmentalism is Ruben’s visual language of fragmentation, color and layering. Faces and bodies are broken into individual shapes and planes, then brought back together through color, overlap and composition. Instead of hiding the cracks, the work embraces the imperfections that shape who we are, and finds connection in the spaces between the pieces.
The exhibition brings together works that celebrate identity, visibility and belonging: First to Rise honors the Black and Brown trans women who led the way at Stonewall, while Together We Stand shows three figures built from the colors of the Pride flag. They hang alongside portraits from Shantay, We Will Stay!, in which historic icons of freedom are reimagined as bold, defiant drag queens, and the dimensional works of Innocence: three children, three colors, three forms of survival. Ruben’s newest series, Social Distortion, completes the selection, giving a face to people whose stories are too often reduced to headlines.
The timing could not be more West Hollywood. On October 30 and 31, the city’s famous Halloween celebration spills over from Santa Monica Boulevard into the courtyard of the Kimpton La Peer, with a DJ setting the tone right next to The Drawing Room. Step in from the party and find yourself among the paintings, with the artist there to welcome you.
Prefer a quieter visit? Ruben will be at the hotel every day through November 2, the last day of the exhibition, to walk you through the work.
“Hotels are places of passing through, where people arrive, cross paths and leave changed in small ways. My work is about those connections between the pieces. And on Halloween, when everyone puts on a mask, my paintings do the opposite: they take the face apart to show who’s underneath. I love that the two will meet in the same courtyard.”
Ruben Dario
Opening nights: Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31, 7 to 10 PM, with DJ in the courtyard
On view: through Monday, November 2, with Ruben present daily 11am to 7pm
Location: The Drawing Room, Kimpton La Peer Hotel, 627 N La Peer Dr, West Hollywood
With the Halloween festivities nearby, allow extra time for traffic and parking on the opening nights.
All works are available for purchase. To ask about a piece or arrange a private viewing, contact contact@rubendarioconcepts.com. Signed limited edition prints are available in the online store.