Robert Spies, “Anthropic”

Our nervous systems gather and store shapes, textures and colors with associated emotions. These are the raw materials of art, mostly hidden from our conscious awareness until drawn out by new experience and forged by the artistic impulse. I see the creation of art as a kind of truth telling, bearing witness to human experience in the natural world. Making or appreciating art becomes an interaction between the materials and the human nervous system, and, though the experience of the viewer and the maker are joined in the work, they are separate, dissimilar.

I gravitate towards tribal and cubist modes of expression, as they evoke strong reactions. The power of art is in its raw experience and language about art is pretty weak tea, so please enjoy the shapes and images.

I have been making sculpture since the 1970s and 2D work since about 2010. My interest is in figurative art, including other species. I have studied figurative and abstract art, especially cubists and tribal artists and find much to like in the modern tradition, especially pre-minimalist and pre-conceptual.  I have had a long career as a marine scientist, but did not have an opportunity to go to art school.

Second Saturday Gallery Reception:

July 8, 5pm-8pm

Free admission

Mendocino Art Center hosts a free Second Saturday Artists Reception each month. Enjoy snacks and wine, and meet the exhibiting artists.