Ruby Silvious’ Tiny Paintings and Assemblages Reimagine Used Teabags

From diminutive pieces of fine mesh, Ruby Silvious meticulously conjoins, stains, tears, and sculpts a range mixed-media collages and tiny paintings from repurposed teabags. She often incorporates other elements, such as sardine tins, thread spools, and cut paper elements. The bags are emptied and flattened and sometimes connected to form longer surfaces, often keeping the strings and tabs attached. Other times, Silvious further manipulates the soft paper substrate, creating life-size garments that possess an ethereal, even spectral quality.

This spring, Silvious’ work can be seen in group shows in Vermont, Maryland, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and New York. During the summer, she will be collaborating with Málaga-based artist David Seaton, whose abstract paintings inspired some of Silvious’ recent paper pieces, followed by a show of both of their work in Rhonda, Spain. And in the fall, her pieces will also be included in a group exhibition at Gallery of Hermosa. See more and follow updates on Instagram.

An artwork by Ruby Silvious depicting a paper cutout of a young woman with a long list, made from a sardine can and tea bags

Teabag artworks by Ruby Silvious with paintings of teapots on different sized bags

An artwork by Ruby Silvious depicting a paper cutout of a young boy fishing with his dog, made from a sardine can and tea bags

Teabag artworks by Ruby Silvious with paintings of tiny button-down shirts on different bags

A tiny painting by Ruby Silvious of black-and-white cranes on two conjoined teabags

A tiny painting by Ruby Silvious of Key lime pie and coffee on two conjoined teabags

An artwork by Ruby Silvious made from tea bags in the shape of half of a long-sleeved, collared shirt

A tiny painting by Ruby Silvious of a Native American pueblo, such as Taos, on a deconstructed teabag

A tiny painting by Ruby Silvious of a lobster on a teabag

An overview of a number of teabags, paints, and other art materials showing artist Ruby Silvious' process

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