Inside the Studio with Artist David King Reuben

With a realization that mark-making was perhaps born from a quest for immortalization, fine artist David King Reuben began to sketch around the forms of his loved ones as they lay upon his canvases. The London–based painter, sculptor, installation artist, and musician resonated with some of the earliest known artistic renderings, those of hands, found in cave paintings across continents. “The first mark we ever made was around a human hand. In many ways, we’re still trying to leave that same trace,” Reuben tells Surface.

This sentiment is one of many explored within a filmic studio visit directed by Justin Blattner, with videography by Michael Cedeño, that looks into the artist’s practice and the inspiration behind his latest series. What began with depictions of his father extended into self-portraits and portraits of loved ones. “I started taking the geometric shapes I had found within those traced bodies and turning them into organic geometric paintings,” Reuben says. “I then introduced architectural lines, almost as if they had been placed on a stage, to juxtapose the fluid, flowing forms with harsher, more rigid ones.”

Reuben’s artworks have evolved organically ever since, “gradually incorporating portraiture while becoming more focused on our perception of time,” he says. These pieces mark the latest philosophical advancement from an artist whose contributions—from large-scale oil paintings to performance—has mesmerized audiences, from the inaugural Frieze Art Fair Los Angeles to Art Basel Miami Beach and at home in London.