An Exhibition in the Planning Stages

I recently reached out to Chinese artist Sheng Dongqiao to propose a joint exhibition of our work to appear in China and America. Mr. Sheng paints work similar to the historic models that have inspired my work since 2006. He creates magnificent landscape paintings using traditional Chinese methods.

My colleague Berlin Fang, who works in ACU’s Center for Teaching and Learning and grew up in China, first introduced me to Mr. Sheng’s art. He also assisted me by translating my correspondence with Mr. Sheng.

The Response

Sheng Donqiao responded enthusiastically to the idea of exhibiting our works together. And he said some very kind things about my work and the sensitivity of my response to Chinese art. He advised me that, “According to Chinese tradition, we highlight the guest’s works first. So when the joint exhibit happens in China, [your] work will be the first part of the exhibit. If the exhibit happens in the US, my works will be the first part of the exhibit.”  Then, he surprised me by combining our paintings into a grid, which he posted to his social media. As you can see below, the works already speak to each other.

This grid juxtaposes details from landscape paintings by artists Robert Green and Sheng Dongqiao.
The five images in full color are details of my paintings, which are then followed by four works done in ink by Sheng Dongqiao. 

Mr. Sheng acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic will delay the process of having an exhibition in China. But we agreed to begin laying the groundwork in the weeks and months ahead.

Workshop for Students

Additional plans are underway for Mr. Sheng to conduct an online workshop/demonstration for ACU art and design students in the spring of 2022. This is an exciting opportunity for my students! They’ll learn approaches Chinese artists take toward pictorial composition and representation, and get to observe his amazing brush techniques.

ACU Faculty Exhibition Opens

The Art & Design Faculty Exhibition, which opens tonight in the Shore Gallery on the ACU campus, features group of deluge paintings by Robert Green. These three recently completed works are part of an ongoing series dedicated to the deluge theme. Like my prior works, these share much in common with Chinese landscape a paintings. Each has a vertical format and highly abstracted references to mountains, water, and various atmospheric conditions.

Marking systems typically used in map-making allude to these various landscape features. These do so in ways that shift in perspective.

The time-intensive work necessary to complete these paintings was supported by Cullen Grant from Abilene Christian University.

Deluge No. 1, 2020, acrylic on paper, 48″ x 12″ by Robert Green. ©

Deluge No. 2, 2020, acrylic on paper, 50″ x 16″ by Robert Green. ©

Deluge No. 3, 2021, acrylic on paper, 48″ x 24.25″ by Robert Green. ©

Roundabout in Modern Art National Exhibition at Dallas Metro Arts Contemporary

The Modern Art National Exhibition opened at Dallas Metro Arts Contemporary on Dec. 15 and runs until the closing reception, 6:00-7:30 pm on Jan. 9, 2021. DMAC is located at 1412 14th Street, Plano, TX. See an overview of the exhibition here but I encourage you to visit in person if you live in the area.

Roundabout, one of my paintings, is included in this exhibition.

painting made of untethered cartographic symbols
Roundabout, 2018, acrylic on canvas board, 14″ x 11″ by Robert Green. ©

Reception Photos from Coincidence of Opposites

On Friday evening Oct. 18, a reception was held for Coincidence of Opposites, my exhibition with Polly and Kenny Jones. As you can see from these photographs, there was a large turnout. It was an unexpected surprise to see a few former students and colleagues. They showed up mainly because the reception coincided with ACU’s Homecoming. Thanks to Chris Jimenez, Jr., who photographed the reception and gave me permission to share these on my website!

To see the works I included in this exhibition, follow the link below.

Coincidence of Opposites


Photos from the Opening of Flux

The opening of Flux on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Center for Contemporary Art in Abilene was an enjoyable time. Many people turned out to view the works, ask questions, and engage in friendly conversation. There were several other art show openings and events happening during Artwalk. Just outside this space, the Center was premiering its national art competition. Here are some other photos of the evening. All the photos were taken by ACU Art and Design student Chris Jimenez, Jr.

Two Upcoming Exhibitions

Plan to be in Abilene between Sept. 11 and Nov. 9, 2019? If so, you’ll have opportunities to see new works I’ve created up close and thoughtfully presented. I really encourage you not to miss these exhibitions! Many new works feature shifting visual effects and subtle passages that can’t be experienced in digital reproductions (see three examples below).

Opportunity 1: FLUX

The first exhibition Flux features drawings. While I’ve produced drawings throughout my career, I’ve never before assembled an exhibition exclusively of drawings.

At the core of this exhibition are two sets of five shaped drawings that have never been exhibited before! The originality and complex interrelationships among these ten works on paper made finding a way to present them a significant challenge. The drawings share a title, Hither and Thither, which is an apt description of the nature of the works.

A complex investigation of time, space, and fluctuation in a set of five drawings on shaped paper.
Hither and Thither 1.1-1.5, 2014, mixed media on shaped paper, 32.5″ x 84.5″ by Robert Green. ©

You can see Flux at the Center for Contemporary Arts, Gallery 4, 220 Cypress St. in downtown Abilene from Sept. 11 – Nov. 9. Expect to see the Hither and Thither drawings and about a dozen other small drawings that laid the groundwork for those explorations.

Opportunity 2: COINCIDENCE OF OPPOSITES

From Sept. 27 – Oct. 18, I’ll be showing new paintings produced over the last two years. This exhibition is called Coincidence of Opposites and you can see it at the Shore Gallery on the ACU campus. My co-conspirators for this show are friends and fellow artists Polly and Kenny Jones. I’m honored to be exhibiting with them again. Our two previous exhibitions together were Terra Incognita in 2013 and Palimpsest in 2008.

In Coincidence of Opposites, I’ll be presenting two different strands of work, one serious and the other a bit more playful and paradoxical. The first strand is a set of four paintings that pay homage to specific artworks produced by Chinese landscape painters working between the 15th and 17 centuries.

I adopted the practice of such artists to paint, as a form of tribute, in the manner of an admired master. I set out to pay a tribute of my own by “recreating” (initiating a dialogue with) four Chinese works using the language of maps. Such an approach ensured that the resulting works would be intercultural, hybrids of Eastern and Western ideas, values, and techniques. That I used a marking system strongly associated with quantitative and rational (e.g. scientific) impulses ensured that the new works meld different viewpoints and purposes.

An homage to Chinese landscape painting using the language of maps.
After Wang Yuanqi’s Landscape After Wu Zhen, 2019, acrylic on paper, 48″ x 22″ by Robert Green. ©

The second strand is made up of small paintings on canvas boards and panels. In these works, I employ the language of maps in whimsical, self-contradictory ways. The works collapse pictorial space, seem intentionally self-contained, and hint at real and imagined environmental contradictions.

A painting in which the language of maps is toyed with alongside the idea of containment.
Roundabout No. 2, 2018, acrylic on panel, 11″ x 14″ by Robert Green. ©

Can’t make it to the exhibitions? Email me and I’ll send you a digital “tour”. Not exactly the same as seeing the works in person, though!