The largest work in Sandra Mendelsohn Rubin’s current exhibition A Common Thread features a slender elongated panoramic rendering of a vast accumulation of water, set against dry arid terrain. Titled Aqueduct at Quail Lake, the artist came across this landscape during a flight returning to San Francisco. Seeing this view from above, she was taken by the contrast of serene blue water, surrounded by parched, barren land. 

It was during a visit to the actual location that Rubin extensively documented the area using digital photography. Upon reviewing the imagery, she stitched together a number of images in order to achieve her desired composition. The end result was produced over the course of three years.

Click here to see more images from the exhibition, and stay turned for a video with the artist speaking about her work in depth – coming soon!

Sandra Mendelsohn Rubin: A Common Thread is on view at L.A. Louver through March 28, 2015.

IMAGE: (top to bottom) Rubin in her studio painting Aqueduct at Quail Lake; Reference photography for the Aqueduct at Quail Lake; Sandra Mendelsohn Rubin, Aqueduct at Quail Lake, 2012-2015, oil on polyester, 9 x 54 in. (22.9 x 137.2 cm)