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About the Artist
Born in Berkeley, California, and now a resident of San Diego, Robert Glick spent most of his adult life in the maritime business. It was not until he moved to Houston for professional reasons that the owners of a local gallery called the Blank Canvas became interested in Robert's poetry and offered to sell it if he could find a way to display it. Intrigued by the challenge, Robert received some technical advice and started painting in 2001; he soon discovered ways in which language could combine with visual composition to display a higher form of expression, and this kept him going until he developed sufficient skill to fully surrender to the call of art in 2006.
In 2007, Robert started painting with fire. Inspired by the great Yves Klein, Robert wanted his art to reside "somewhere beyond the visible" (Klein) and began using transformational elements such as fire, heat and wind, along with more conventional mediums to create a permanent impression of transient nature. When asked about a series of fire paintings constructed for a 2009 group exhibit called "The Art of War", Robert noted: "When flames leap headlong into the void, they leave behind an unsullied imprint, a shining moment, the incarnation of form flickering between this world and the unknown, between life and death - pure energy incarnate."
Using a wide variety of mediums, such as ink, oil and acrylic, sometimes combined with resin, plaster, graphite and flame, Robert ranges between the abstract, conceptual and figurative. Much of his work is inspired by the changing face of nature and the human condition. Some paintings evoke images of religion, evolution and the origins of man. Like all serious artists, Robert is searching for that "unsullied imprint" in a complex world. The more encompassing the subject matter, the more challenging the commonalities are to portray, until finally artistic language breaks down and art becomes as abstract as the concept itself. Somewhere between these material and immaterial worlds, Robert's art stands out.
Robert continues to write, and has a series of newsletters about art and the human condition on his website: www.robertglickart.com. |