About

My paintings are an ongoing experiment in visualizing emotions, ideas, and realities—both real and imagined. I began my artist’s life as a realist, studying figure drawing and artistic anatomy at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. I continued to explore realism through figure painting and portrait sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Over time, my art has evolved toward abstraction and conceptual forms. I find inspiration in blending various styles and techniques, creating work that exists both within and outside established art movements.

I create with traditional media, primarily oil and acrylic paints. I often blend in elements from the natural world, especially from my vegetable, flower, and herb garden. Color-rich organic matter from the garden blends with the ground earth mineral pigments in paints. On the opposite end of the spectrum from organic ingredients, some of my paintings include outdated and expired art and design materials from the pre-digital era of graphic design. A world I created in for many years. Sometimes valid artists’ materials become neglected in the perpetual rush to play with new technologies.

Some days in the art studio, I feel like an investigative journalist, commenting on the invisible forces that shape our lives. On other days, my brushstrokes are free from social observations and planned intentions. On those days I improvise like a musician, searching for a melody, or a creative theme that will result in a painting that complements reality.
– Robert Urgo Gerson