Anthony Ruby

From the late 90's to the mid 2000's, Ruby developed a style of narrative, figurative painting that incorporated personal history, social realities and political, moral dilemma.  Dystopian urban worlds are laced with tormented figures who exist within the underbelly of society. 

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The Black Paintings  of Francisco Goya had a profound affect on Ruby's approach to painting throughout this period. The German Neue Sachlichkeit  artists from the 1920's Weimar Republic such as Max Beckmann, George Grosz and Otto Dix were also constant points of reference. 

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The imagery of the Mexican Muralist movement and artists such as Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros were an ongoing influence on Ruby's work feeding into The Pana Shuffle  Mural at Mutton Lane in 2004-05.

Scottish Figurative painting from the 1980s/90s remained a source of reference for Ruby and painters such as Stephen Campbell, Ken Currie, Peter Howson and Adrian Wiszniewski continued to influence Ruby's work at this stage.