Melbourne born, Australian artist Ruben Cirugeda has spent a lifetime drawing, painting and exploring the possibilities of visual art. His formal study of oil painting began in childhood and has continued throughout his life, alongside an enduring curiosity for different media and ways of making.

His work is largely centred on contemporary portraiture, often on a large scale, combining a traditional approach to painting with abstraction, graphic influences and elements of popular culture. The result is a distinctive visual language that sits somewhere between the familiar and the unexpected.

‘I love creating bold, character-driven paintings that sit somewhere between portraiture, pop culture and comic-book surrealism.’

For more than twenty years, Ruben worked as an art director and creative lead in some of Australia’s leading advertising agencies, including DDB, Clemenger BBDO and M&C Saatchi. His career gave him an extensive grounding in visual communication, craft and storytelling.

Today, Ruben has returned his full attention to his first and enduring passion: art.