Anja Rubik I
Acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"
2012
Acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"
2012
Private collection
This painting is one of Collins' first in the long-running "Model Citizens" series, in which Collins paints portraits of models in his signature restrained palette and high-contrast style. This portrait is his first of the iconic Polish supermodel, Anja Rubik. Collins found that Rubik's arresting gaze, defiant contraposto pose, and almost skeletal frame to embody the haunting nature of sublime beauty that the series explores.
In Collins' first portrait of Rubik, one may identify the beginning of Collins' transition from simplified, stencil-inspired shapes to more complex expressions of chiaroscuro, the striking contrast of light and shadow. Yet, like other early works in the "Model Citizens" series, this painting was based on a pen & ink study, which preserves its gestural softness relative to Collins' later, intricately detailed portraits.
This painting was commissioned by Collins' close friend and fellow artist, Simon Petepiece.
