About

My paintings are an exploration of ideas, emotions, and realities—both real and imagined. Through painting, I aspire to create images that evoke personal meaning for the viewer. While my paintings express my perspective, I hope they will invite viewers to express their ideas and interpretations. I truly enjoy hearing what others see and imagine in my work.

I began my artistic 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 and portrait painting and portrait sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In recent years, my work has evolved toward abstraction and a more conceptual emphasis. I am drawn to creating work that exists outside established art movements.

I work primarily in traditional media—oil and acrylic paints—then bring aspects of the three-dimensional world into the mix. Elements from the natural world, especially from my vegetable, flower, and herb garden, find their way onto the canvas. Color-rich organic elements from the garden reunites with the earth-mineral pigments in paint.

One of my current painting series incorporates antiquated art and design materials from the pre-digital era of graphic design—a world I created in for many years as a book, poster, and publications designer. What happens when the graphic designer’s eye meets the painter’s eye? The synthesis between those practices is a central question in my studio.

Some days in the studio, I feel like an investigative journalist, commenting on the invisible forces that shape our lives. On other days, my brushstrokes are free of observation and intention. Then I improvise like a musician, searching for a melody or theme that might result in a painting that both expands and complements reality.

Robert Urgo Gerson

California, 2026