RUBY Projects is proud to present EROICA HOUSTON, a solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist and cultural architect Chino Amobi.
From the humid breath of the bayou, where light spills thick and slow, emerged a lineage etched in the language of less. Houston, a city that stretches towards an infinite horizon, has long whispered secrets in the stark grammar of minimalism. Here, the canvas sheds its skin of skin, revealing the bone structure of form, the quiet resonance of pure hue.
Space, in this sprawling metropolis, is not just a void, but a palpable presence. It breathes between the clean lines, hums within the unburdened fields of color. Those before us, with visionary hands, carved sculptures from absence, built paintings and sang songs that echoed the vastness of the Texas sky. They understood that emptiness could be a vessel, pregnant with potential, a stage for the subtle dance of light and shadow.
Abstraction, in this context, is not an escape from reality, but a deeper dive into its essence. It is the distillation of feeling, the reduction of the world to its fundamental vibrations. Think of the hard-edged geometries that mirror the city's grid, the time weathered washes that capture the Gulf's elusive moods. These are not only shapes and colors, but coded maps of inner landscapes, echoes of a reality felt, not seen.
The metaphysical topology whispers through the silence. Beyond the tangible, beyond the immediate, lies an invitation. The reductive forms become portals, the expansive spaces beckon immanence. There is a yearning in this artistic heritage, a reaching for something beyond the material, a dialogue with the unseen forces that shape our existence.
This exhibition, EROICA HOUSTON, is a continuation of that conversation. It is an echo of those pioneering voices, refracted through a contemporary lens. It is an exploration of the enduring power of simplicity to evoke complexity, the profound resonance found in the boundless expanse of space, the transcendent potential held within pure abstraction. In these works, you will find not just objects, but invitations to disappear in the quietude, to feel the pulse of Houston's minimalist soul, and to glimpse the shimmering edges of the infinite.
ABOUT CHINO AMOBI
Chino Amobi (b. 1984, Tuscaloosa, AL) is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and director whose practice spans painting, sound, literature, and performance. His work navigates the intersections of identity, futurism, and abstraction, pushing the boundaries of genre and form across a wide array of media. As co-founder of the influential global collective NON Worldwide, Amobi has helped reshape sonic and visual discourse, advocating for radical Black and diasporic expression.
Image by Jon Freeze, RP
Amobi’s critically acclaimed album PARADISO (UNO NYC) and conceptual novel Eroica have established him as one of the most singular cultural voices of his generation. His work has been presented at leading institutions including MoMA PS1, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, ICA London, The New Museum, Red Bull Arts, and the Venice Biennale. He has participated in dialogues and collaborations with artists such as Dean Blunt, Kelela, Klein, and Nkisi.
He holds a BFA and MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and is represented by Fitzpatrick Gallery (Paris), Meredith Rosen Gallery (New York), and von ammon co (Washington, D.C.). Through each of these platforms, Amobi continues to advance a practice rooted in deep conceptual rigor, formal experimentation, and a visionary commitment to new narrative futures.