Fabio Napoleoni's History with Art Center Gallery
“Todd Rubin & Art Center Gallery: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the years of support along with the wise advice and financial support you gave me when I was thinking of doing this art thing on my own. Eternally appreciative my friend.” ~ Page 6 of Fabio Napoleoni’s Retrospective Book 2017
Fabio Napoleoni wrote that dedication to Todd Rubin in 2017. The history behind it began five years earlier, in 2012, when Art Center Gallery first welcomed Fabio Napoleoni art to its walls in Orange County.
Where the History Began in 2012
By then, owner Todd Rubin had been running galleries since opening his first in 1994. Todd believed in Fabio’s work, and Art Center Gallery became one of the first galleries to display and sell Fabio’s artwork.
Fabio Napoleoni with Todd Rubin, owner of Art Center Gallery, and art consultants Nate and Dave at Art Center Gallery.
Todd soon began traveling with Fabio, assisting at his artist events and helping bring his work into other galleries throughout the United States and Canada. The trips to Canada remain some of Todd’s favorite memories of their time together.
Fabio Napoleoni Artist Events in Orange County
Back home, Todd hosted Fabio for an annual artist appearance at Art Center Gallery in Westminster Mall. Collectors lined up to meet Fabio Napoleoni and waited for hours, and some shows continued until two and three in the morning.
Todd hosts a giveaway for collectors waiting to meet Fabio Napoleoni at an Art Center Gallery event. Todd always kept guests entertained during the long waits with prizes and raffles.
Fabio took his time with each person, listening to their stories before dedicating and signing their artwork. Many of those collectors returned year after year.
In 2014, Art Center Gallery brought tattoo artist Rick Walters to a Fabio Napoleoni event, where guests could get tattoos during the show. Before the doors opened, Fabio and his wife, Nikki, both got tattoos of their own.
Fabio Napoleoni and tattoo artist Rick Walters co-sign Memories Inked Onto My Canvas, a popular collaborative artwork, at Art Center Gallery.
Meet Fabio Napoleoni at Art Center Gallery Each February
The annual tradition continues today. After three decades in Westminster Mall, Art Center Gallery moved to The Shops at Mission Viejo, and the Westminster Mall has since been demolished.
Each February, typically the weekend before Valentine’s Day, Fabio returns to Art Center Gallery in Mission Viejo for his annual artist appearance. Collectors arrive hours in advance to meet Fabio, have books and artwork signed and take photos with him.
The Heart in Every Fabio Napoleoni Painting
The February date is chosen for the heart found in every Fabio Napoleoni painting, a tribute to his daughter, Lauren, who was born with a heart condition and has had five heart surgeries. Fabio created his most famous character, Marcenivo, during Lauren’s hospital stays in 2004.
Lauren has joined her father at Art Center Gallery as a special guest, signing artwork and books alongside him. Books signed by both Lauren and Fabio during her rare appearances are available only at Art Center Gallery.
The Jessie Rees Foundation Project
In 2019, the friendship reached beyond the gallery. Todd, Shannon and their son, Sorrell Rubin, then in junior high, worked with Fabio on a NEGU project for the Jessie Rees Foundation, creating coloring books and other items for JoyJars given to children fighting cancer in hospitals.
A Trip to Mexico in February 2020
In February 2020, Todd and Shannon traveled to Mexico with Fabio and Nikki after the annual show. News of the coronavirus was just beginning to spread, and the group shared a laugh over Coronas beneath a sign that read “No Corona Here.”
Opening the Fabio Napoleoni Gallery in Laguna Beach
Shortly after they returned home, the country shut down. The malls closed, and Todd could not enter his own gallery.
Todd and Fabio spoke by phone every day, and out of those calls came a plan: Todd proposed opening a gallery in Laguna Beach dedicated entirely to Fabio Napoleoni’s work. Fabio later told Laguna Beach Magazine his response: “Hey, let’s give it a try.”
Fabio wanted visitors to feel as if they were stepping into his world. He flew to Laguna Beach during the pandemic to draw his famous trees and characters directly on the gallery walls, covering them with original drawings from top to bottom. He designed the space to resemble what he imagined a Dr. Seuss gallery would look like.
The Fabio Napoleoni Gallery opened in October 2020 in Laguna Beach, one block from Main Beach. It is the first flagship gallery dedicated entirely to Fabio’s art, books and sculptures.
Laguna Beach Magazine featured the gallery in an article titled “Art With Heart.”
Fabio Napoleoni Art at Art Center Gallery Today
Today, Todd and Shannon Rubin own and operate Art Center Gallery in Mission Viejo, which has served Orange County art collectors since 1994, and the flagship Fabio Napoleoni Gallery in Laguna Beach.
Art Center Gallery carries an extensive collection of Fabio Napoleoni art, including original paintings, signed and numbered limited editions on paper and canvas, sculptures and autographed books such as the Fabio Napoleoni Retrospective Book.
In 2025, Shannon Rubin wrote Friends and Foes: The Characters of Fabio Napoleoni, a hardcover book presenting each of Fabio’s characters and their histories. The book features the full cast of Fabio Napoleoni characters, including Marcenivo, Dragonboy, Darwin and Blu.
The history that began on Art Center Gallery’s walls in 2012 continues today in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach. Each February, Fabio Napoleoni returns to Art Center Gallery for his annual Valentine’s artist event, signing artwork and books for the collectors who come back year after year.
“Eternally appreciative my friend.” ~ Fabio Napoleoni
