Blissful Rhythms
The exhibition, Blissful Rhythms, features prints and paintings by Mary Rousseaux and Vernard Rubens
mary rousseaux
"detroit-based abstract painter mary rousseaux is a woman of many contrasts; the feisty persona one encounters when they first meet the artist belies a deep tenderness that oozes from her work. then there’s her love of both city and country.
rousseaux says she experiences a personal transformation when she spends time away from the gritty city on the rolling, bucolic leelanau peninsula.
“i connect with nature, and then i come back to urban life and have a connection with humans and the natural rhythm of the city — detroit has its own type of swagger,” she explains. the artist says she needs that clear city/country contrast in order to carry on; it’s the yin and yang that defines her work and her very being.
a mixed-media artist who lives in detroit’s indian village neighborhood, rousseaux numbers rather than titles her paintings. “i don’t want to define your experience,” she says. “it’s personal for everybody.”
her series 43, which consists of eight large-scale mixed-media paintings that cross the color spectrum from deep moody blues and greens to light pinks and yellows, focuses on the magical light that filters across leelanau county. “the light is never the same,” she says, adding that the series is “colorful and contemplative.”"- by patty lanoue stearns/ detroit home
Vernard Rubens
Vernard Rubens is a native Detroiter who was educated in the Detroit Public School System. He continued his education at Wayne State University as a print maker under Professor Stanley Rosenthal. He also studied under established abstract painters Charles McGhee and Allie McGhee.
Vernard Rubens’ monoprints reflect his ability to fuse the technical aspects of printmaking with his creativity as an abstract thinker. Rubens’ art is very, very colorful, fun and rhythmic. He is motivated by music and his art is the classic interpretation of this process of ideas to tangibility.
Vernard Rubens is represented in the Children’s Museum, The Charles H. Wright African American Museum and numerous corporate and private collections. He has exhibited widely for over ten years. He has taught art in the public and private sector.
Vernard Rubens’ busy schedule includes being employed by Detroit-Winsor Dance Academy (DWDA) as Staff Artist, and Cass Community Social Services as a Program Assistant, teaching his created art works.
Vernard Rubens’ corporate collections are: Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan, Don Coleman Advertising, Inc. of Southfield, Michigan, various BCBSM facilities in Michigan and the International Metal Sculpture Show at Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan.
Vernard Rubens won first prize in the nationwide competition for poster design, created for all the Young Lawyers section of the State Bar of Michigan “Teens and Guns – United We Fall”.
Vernard’s dreams and aspirations have come true and he urges all young people who have artistic abilities to stay focused and remember their dreams. “My art work is associated with the environment, everyday life, crime, and poverty, in order to send a message and open the eyes of all young people.”
Vernard Rubens’ art work is a permanent collection at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
