Robert Beck
Representational painting, all genre, documentary.
Lambertville New Jersey

The Studio and Gallery of Robert Beck will present an exhibition of his recent work titled: SCAPES, from October 25 through November 24.  The Artist's Reception will be Saturday, Oct. 25, 5-8 and Sunday, Oct. 26, 1-4.  The public is welcome.  There will be chocolate.

One of the premier painters in the region, Beck is known for his broad and uncommon subject matter.   The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie recently presented a 40-painting retrospective of his work, and his images are perennial prizewinners at the Annual Phillips Mill Exhibition. The selection of paintings in SCAPES focuses on the core of Beck's work - the environments around him - contrasting images created in Central Park with local ones from along the Delaware River.  Beck acquired his visual language painting the landscape of Bucks County, and this show highlights his descriptive fluency as applied to one of the most significant landscapes in the world as well as subjects his own back yard. 

"On one level, a landscape is trees, grass, sky, and an occasional structure," says Beck.  "On another level these paintings are about how it feels to be there.  I still paint New York as an outsider, and there is the taste of my documentary work in those images.  They probe.  The image of the Mother Goose statue is more about the moment I came across it than the monument itself.  There is a more relaxed intimacy to my scenes from along the river because that's my home.  The sycamores are old friends." 

As usual, Beck's exhibition includes a couple of surprises.  One comes in the form of a large mermaid; a blend of pre-Raphaelite imagery and contemporary eco-commentary.  Another is an eight-foot statement titled, The Raising; the culmination of a project Beck has been working on for years.  Both of these paintings are conceptual works that encourage viewers to take their own interpretive journeys, but under the subtle guidance of the artist's intentions.  If there is anything predictable in Beck's shows, it is that they provoke contemplation. Nowadays, that's not such a bad thing.

The Studio and Gallery of Robert Beck is located at 21 Bridge St. in Lambertville, NJ.  For information call 609-397-5679, email rbeck@snip.net, or visit www.robertbeck.net.