ROBERT BAART

Artist's Statement

For as long as I can remember, I have been an observer of nature and the landscape.

Although my work is not specific to any one place, it is a very personal expression of my relationship to the landscape and my concerns about the state of the earth's environment. Much on earth has been lost over a short period of time. More species are extinct and ecosystems continue to deteriorate at a rapid rate. In spite of the current reality, I still feel there is much to inspire. Over decades I have wandered in and around mountains, fields, swamps, and woodlands as well as having daily encounters with ribbons of green spaces in the city. It all provides a constant source of study and reflection that continues to inform my work.

My paintings hover between realism and abstraction. They embody a language of color, texture, light, and atmosphere.They remain abstract yet familiar and I hope they provide the viewer with a point of contemplative departure. I like the following quote by William Corbett in a review of the work of painter Jake Berthot: " The artist paints to see what his experience looks like. It is an embrace of the never-to-be-understood way in which the world moves us."