Robert Baart - Recent Paintings and Drawings

Artist 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."

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Curator's Statement:

Painting is a language that allows expression in ways that go beyond written words and spoken ideas. It must be seen in person for the actual experience cannot be adequately substituted by printed matter or words. The great power of painting is not limited by the constraints of any temporal theory or dogma. Painting reflects the ideology of the artist; it is the end product of a private dance with experience. Painting has endured and survived despite the myriad attacks to its existence by stylish dogmas and theories, and other mediums trying to grab the power that only painting uniquely demonstrates.
NKG is pleased to present the rich abstract world of painter Robert Baart. Robert taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Art Boston for 35 years. His classes in painting were popular and highly respected by the students. He demonstrated process, materials, and techniques that are rarely taught, all in a calm, generous and knowledgeable manner that inspired his students.
Please visit NKG to experience firsthand the most recent work of this contemporary painter. Robert Baart will bring you into his rich abstract, yet recognizable world.

Natacha Villamia Sochat

May 2011

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