Chris DeRubeis Magic Transforms Metal in SOHO
Unconventional materials and techniques combine in our latest exhibition, Playing with Fire: The Reactive Artwork of Chris DeRubeis, now through September 17, 2026, at Park West Gallery SOHO.
Born in 1978 in Santa Clarita, California, DeRubeis’ family encouraged him from an early age, especially his grandfather who gave him his first airbrush. DeRubeis airbrushed t-shirts and eventually motorcycles, but the family’s faith was tested when his fire and chemical experiments destroyed the garage and nearly blew up the house.
He went on to attend art school in Pasadena but didn’t want to duplicate the styles he saw there. He found his passion in the creation of objects somewhere between paintings and sculpture, but always emphasizing light, surface, energy, and abstraction. DeRubeis developed his own process of grinding, manipulating, layering, and illuminating metal which became the unique style known as Abstract Sensualism and is now a registered art form.
The basis of his art form is to transform industrial metal into luminous abstract paintings in which fire, chemicals, texture, pigment, and reflected light are crucial parts of the image itself. He describes this process as “controlled chaos.”
Beyond his electrifying swirls of abstract color and light, DeRubeis creates images that span from star-filled night skies to whimsical nature with butterflies, flowers and animals. Because of his technique, each piece he creates is unique and one of a kind.
DeRubeis puts his passion into every work of art, saying “All art should inspire and evoke emotion. Art should be something you can actually feel.”
Winning awards and becoming sought by collectors for his art was only the beginning. As the descendant of immigrants from the Italian Province of Frosinone and growing up in California, DeRubeis’ natural interest in wine led to a collaboration with a Lodi grower of Cabernet Sauvignon and thus Abstract Sensualism Vineyards was born. Another award-winning venture.
There is a certain symmetry to showing DeRubeis’ art in our SOHO gallery. He transforms metal—one of the most elemental materials of the industrial city—into luminous, sensual works of contemporary art. In a neighborhood whose identity was born in the conversion of New York’s industrial lofts into spaces for artistic experimentation, this exhibition feels particularly at home.
Join us for Playing with Fire: The Reactive Artwork of Chris DeRubeis, now through September 17, at Park West Gallery SOHO and experience the inspiration and emotion of these remarkable expressions of controlled chaos.
