Rubin 415 for the Brooklyn Desks co-working office space.

Rubin415 for the Brooklyn Desk co-working office space in NYC.

ST.ART: Tell us where you’re from?

RUBIN: I’m born and grew up in Sweden but I’m Finnish by Heritage..

ST.ART: When did you first start with street art?

RUBIN: I was 9 years old when I started tagging the streets.

ST.ART: How would you describe graffuturism?

RUBIN: I can only describe it from my own point of view... It's a pretty loose term that can be applied to artists within graffiti and street art who are more experimental than traditional. I think it means different things for different artists who associate themselves with it. For me personally it's more of a free forum. Graffiti has a lot of rules regarding what you can and cannot do. Within graffuturism there are no such rules, which I guess, was also the original purpose of graffiti back in the day.

Rubin415 for the Brooklyn Desk co-working office space in NYC.

ST.ART: Why the move to Brooklyn?

RUBIN: I have always loved New York and I’ve been visiting New York since the late 90’s. Being a graffiti writer in a small city there is only so much you can do. After I started visiting New York more frequently there was no turning back, especially after you discover everything New York has to offer.

ST.ART: Has New York inspired your work?

RUBIN: The city inspires me on a daily basis, but the biggest inspiration has been that I started looking back to where I come from. My own background and history and how to incorporate that in my work. My work originates from graffiti letters but music is also a big inspiration. I play the guitar and I’ve played in bands all my life and I like to think in terms of music when I paint, - there has to be a certain rhythm, balance and flow. At first look things might seem random but every line and shape has it’s meaning.

ST.ART: What are you currently listening to?

RUBIN: My music taste is really diverse, I listen to so many different types of music, but Kraftwerk and Nina Simone has inspired my work a lot. Currently I’m listening a lot to Princess Century’s new EP “Lossy” and a Finnish Lapland-shamanic inspired band called “Inariveljet”.

ST.ART: What are some future plans your looking to accomplish?

RUBIN: There's a book coming out next spring featuring my works from the past five years that I'm really excited about. The book release will go hand in hand with a solo show at Wallworks Gallery in the Bronx and there will be another release in my native Scandinavia. I also have a bunch of exciting mural projects coming up this fall and next spring.