ABOUT THE PARK
Brief Biography of Jeffrey Rubinoff
The 50 hectare Jeffrey Rubinoff Sculpture Park is home to over 100 of Jeffrey Rubinoff’s sculptures in 9 series. Rubinoff perceives the purpose of the work is “to extend the ancient narrative of art and consequently rekindle the historical spirit of modernism. In addition to viewing the work, which includes the Sculpture Park itself, the goal is to revive the interdisciplinary creative impetus of early modernism and to attain the understanding of art as a serious and credible source of special insight for the evolution of ideas”.
In the early 1970s, Rubinoff moved to a 200-acre farm on Hornby Island in British Columbia, living and working on-site for the next four decades to create the majority of his work. His works range from the human to monumental scale and are created exclusively from welded or cast, stainless and Corten steel. Rubinoff created his sculptures unassisted, and his studio included a one-person steel foundry, which made it possible to cast the organic forms found in his later series. In addition to the sculpture, Rubinoff designed many landscape alterations that have reshaped his property to suit the exhibition of his sculpture.
During the 1990s, Rubinoff’s work was shown in exhibitions with David Smith, Anthony Caro, Alexander Calder, Nancy Graves, Mark di Suvero, Tony Smith, George Rickey, Beverly Pepper, and Robert Murray.
With regard to the predominant art of his time, Rubinoff has stated, “For my generation of artists, culture was defined by marketing. The art market defined originality as novelty. I realized that to make original art with artistic depth I would have to return to the lineage of the ancestors—the history of art by artists. So began a dialogue with the ancestors, artist to artist via the work itself.” – Jeffrey Rubinoff
Purpose of the Jeffrey Rubinoff Sculpture Park
The 50 hectare Jeffrey Rubinoff Sculpture Park is home to over 100 of Jeffrey Rubinoff’s sculptures in 9 series. Rubinoff perceives the purpose of the work is “to extend the ancient narrative of art and consequently rekindle the historical spirit of modernism. In addition to viewing the work, which includes the Sculpture Park itself, the goal is to revive the interdisciplinary creative impetus of early modernism and to attain the understanding of art as a serious and credible source of special insight for the evolution of ideas”.
The ongoing forum for dialogue that starts with the insights evolved with and from Jeffrey Rubinoff’s work is intended for both artists and non-artists. It is for those seriously interested in the ongoing progressive contentions of modernity. The Sculpture Park maintains that modernism was a necessary outcome of modernity; that post-modernism has run its course, and that artists must regain their role at the center of this new reality.
Fellowships and Awards
Jeffrey Rubinoff Junior Research Fellow in Art as a Source of Knowledge
Jeffrey Rubinoff Doctoral Scholarship in Art History and Visual Studies
Jeffrey Rubinoff Post-Doctoral Award
Jeffrey Rubinoff Graduate Essay Awards