Ruby Vartan

Ruby Vartan allows viewers a peek into her inner world through painting. The merging of figuration and abstraction is where their gaze is then focused. She explores emotion and sensuality in all their physical and emotional glory.



The hallmark of her work is its revelry in abstracting the female form. These are simultaneous self-portraits and cross-cultural signifiers of feminine essentialism. While wounds and trauma are represented in the abstract, her layered compositions render them as part of a greater journey toward healing and redemption. The ultimate aim of the work is to investigate the notion of a vital life force in a constant state of renewal.



Her studio process is inclusive and experimental. She will tear the canvas one day, sew it the next, mix turmeric into pigment, whatever it takes to find that precise resonance of closeness and discretion that her work embodies. This physicality and rough handling contrasts the preciousness of the intimacies she reveals. She is not bound to one pictorial method; the fierce liquid power of her experience thrives in an endless refreshing of mediums. Telling her own story through her art, she viscerally draws viewers into a world filled with volatile honesty and fragil...

Los Angeles-based artist Ruby Vartan was born in Beirut and classically trained at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Artes. The strong use of color in her paintings, which reflects her Armenian heritage and identity, symbolizes her desires as well. She has exhibited in Southern California at Launch, Cactus Gallery, Ace/121 Gallery, and Studio Channel Islands. She has also shown in New York City’s Ace Gallery and numerous times in Yerevan, Armenia including its Museum of Modern Art and the Yerevan Art Expo.

2022| Make Plain at Gallery 825, LA
2022| The Lingering Feast at Gallery 825 Online Exhibition
2022| On The Edge Joan Quinn Family Collection, Boston MA
2022| Perceive You a Shoebox Projects online exhibition
2022| BODIES exhibit Online Exhibition at Ikouii
2022|Adorn at Gallery 825 online exhibition
2022|Gleaming Appolo at Gallery 825 Online Exhibition
2021| Public Art BORDERS:INVISIBLE/VISIBLE, Gimpo City, South Korea
2021| Juried Art Exhibition 2021, MOAH:CEDAR, The Lancaster Museum of Art
2021| Cactus Gallery, Los Angeles CA
2020| Verbal Descriptions, Ace/121 Gallery, Glendale CA
2019| Beyond Redemption, Launch LA Gallery
2019| The Next Thing, Blackboard Gallery, Camarillo, CA (3rd place winner)
2019| Abstracto group show, The Neutra, Los Angeles
2019| Collector’s Choice Awards, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo CA
2018| Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan, Armenia
2018| Yerevan Art Expo - Yeran Factory
2017| Yerevan Art Expo - Yeraz Factory
2016| Open Call - Play, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park |Hollywood CA 2016| Arevdur - Armenian Arts Gallery, Glendale CA
2016| AGBU 110 - Anniversary Art display, at The Reef |Downtown LA
2016| Group Show - Arts Treasures | Burbank
2015| Ar...