By Angela Valente Romeo
Robert Bradshaw has been painting for many years. He lists among his influences the works of John Singer Sargent, NC Wyeth and illustrators from the 1950’s. These parties may influence him but he follows his own voice.
Robert’s work is layered and often experimental. The work is intricate, detailed and borders on surreal. His work is moody but not brooding. His color choices are earthy and raw. Robert’s latest work carries these elements and stretches his creativity to new heights. His work will be featured at Archangel Gallery show, P.S. There Is More to Palm Springs. The exhibition runs from December 11 – 31st. In addition to Robert’s work the exhibition features the work of David Farnsworth, Dennis Johnson, and Nicholas Foschi.
Five minutes with Robert and one feels the intellectual side of Robert. He is a thinker and a bit of philosopher. His eyes gleam but one just knows that his mind is going places far beyond the moment. His work is telling stories yet he claims he has no stories to tell. The work clearly says otherwise. Champagne and Modern Art, which will be part of the show, captures an androgynous figure looking out at the viewer. The figure stares back with a look of ennui – and the sense of knowing, weariness and nonchalance. The stare haunts you.
Perhaps this because Robert’s path to painter had twists and turns that affected his use of the brush. Born in Michigan, Robert studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and The American Academy of Art of Chicago. He worked in retail for many years before devoting all his time to his art.
He studied illustration and commercial art; the influence can be seen in his work, most notably in the use of the figure. Many of his figures are interpretation rather representational. This seems to give his figures this sense of being all knowing and revealing little. Before calling Palm Springs home Robert lived in San Francisco and Carmel – both places have influenced artists for years. San Francisco spawned the Funk movement of the 1960s, the rock poster era, embraced the Fluxus movement and continues to be a home for art evolution. Carmel’s artistic community is well known and many have sought refuge there to paint by the sea.
But Palm Springs is where Robert is now. The desert and creative forces seem to have pushed his work further into new territory. The Archangel Show is proof positive. Another of the pieces to be shown turns chairs into portraits. A series of faces loom out while being comfortably seated, the effect is startling – is Robert mirroring us or are these faces peering the viewer? It is a dialogue that waits to happen,
Robert Bradshaw’s work is an intellectual challenge that waits to be unfolded. At the age of 85 Robert continues to astound and has yet to show the world all that lies behind those thinker’s eyes.
For more information on Robert Bradshaw and the upcoming show, visit www.archangelartcollective.com.
