Still life painting with tiles, plants, and landscape out the circle window

Robert Minervini

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Robert Minervini: Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 2015

Selected Work

Exhibitions

Artist Statement

The word Utopia, originating from the literal Greek meaning “non place,” suggests that perfection can only exist in the realm of imagination. My work presents invented spaces that are based on reality, but revel in artificiality. In these desolate dreamlike non-places, constructed realities allude to the making of utopian and dystopian environments.

Through paintings, drawing, murals and printmaking, my work  examines spatial environments and notions of utopia in multi-layered acrylic works. Through dystopian cityscapes, landscapes, and floral still-life arrangements, I engage subject matter that addresses the ecological impact of humanity on the landscape. While informed by the everyday, my works are invented spaces that revel in artificiality and allude to a parallel reality. By utilizing historical painting tropes such as sublimity in the landscape and vanitas still-life arrangements, my work comments on elements of growth, decay, and extinction in a contemporary, and often regional context.