WILLIAM RABINOVITCH (1936 - )

The aim of art is to give expression to the inner vision of man, to open the spiritual foundation of life and the world. William Rabinovitch portrays man as cosmological and metaphysical the referent and point of departure for these symbol-like forms. Although his symbols sometimes defy identification with recognizable objects, many symbols he uses are collective in their nature and origin. The origin of these symbols is so far buried in the mystery of the past that they seem to have no human source. They are, in fact, collective representations emanating from primeval dreams and creative fantasies. Habinovitch's imagery appears to follow traditional motifs; sex and fertility, birth and death, love and violence-but to interpret the symbols formally is to be led astray. A symbol always stands for something more than its obvious and immediate meaning and hints at far greater mysteries of the yet unknown. Rabinovitch handles primal archetypes in a revolutionary way. He takes us through layers of feelings deeper than waking reality and finds acceptance and integration in the chaos found there. The paintings with their sound and fury are unleashed with expressionist bravura, demanding attention by way of startling color and primitive exuberance. Rabinovitch's work is a complex expression of contradiction, one moment poetic and the next demonic. Humorous and bizarre ideas build a bridge from the realm of the dark underworld to the human world. The bond between his fantasy and the earth is the careful observance of the laws of nature and the love for all creatures.

Rabinovitch's paintings break away from things as they are in order to show objects and events in process. His fluid contours and animated forms express a new vision of inner realities on a psychological and visual level. The existence of this "inner reality" is subject to a wide range of evidence, as given by artists like Rabinovitch.

SELECTED ONE-MAN SHOWS:
• 1978,1979
  • Rabinovitch Studio, New York, New York
• 1975,1976
  • Rabinovitch&Guerra Gallery, New York City
• 1971
  • Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, California
• 1968
  • Casa Americana, Madrid, Spain
• 1966
  • Triton Museum, San Jose, California
  • Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey, California
  • Jewish Community Center, Oakland, California

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
• 1979
  • Montreal, New York International Exchange Show, Arts Club, Montreal, Canada
• 1978
  • O.l.A. Group Shows, New York City and Bologna, Italy
• 1978
  • Cayman Gallery "Trends", New York, New York
• 1977
  • Whitney Counterweight, New York, New York
• 1976
  • Gruenebaum Gallery, New York, New York
• 1976
  • Allan Stone Gallery, New York, New York
• 1976
  • Bob Tomlinson Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• 1973
  • Featured in videotape shown as part of 1973 Whitney Museum exhibit entitled "MUSEUM"

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
• Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, California
• Mural Painting at Monterey Conference Center, Montery, California
• Mural Painting at Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, California