bryan robertson: altar of commerce

July 22 to August 26, 2017

Bryan Robertson explores the overwhelming commercialism of life in America and the absurdity of the industrial complex – "medicated" food, technology run amok and the games we play at the altar of commerce. His symbolism and style suggests the peril as well as the irony of the power of corporate control and its out-of-touch behavior based solely on financial gain.

The Fantasy Industrial Complex Part II, 2015, oil on canvas, 30" x 60"

Played, 2016, oil on canvas, 97 3/4" x 152"

What’s On The Table, and The Carnival Below, 2016, oil on canvas, 97 3/4" x 73 1/8"

The Fantasy Industrial Complex Part I, 2015, oil on canvas, 30” x 72”

The Technocrat’s Dream, 2016, oil on canvas, 97 3/4" x 73 1/8"

The Agricultural Industrial Complex Part I, 2016, oil on canvas, 52" x 36"

The Agricultural Industrial Complex Part II, 2016, oil on canvas, 52" x 36"

Superpower: America, 2016, digital collage, size variable

Superpower: Babylon, 2016, digital collage, size variable

Peanut Gallery, 2016, digital collage with oil on panel, 11' x 17"

Bryan Robertson works primarily with paint on canvas and digital imagery. Influenced by both abstract and figurative surrealism Robertson uses a process of chance and collage to show multiple ideas at one time. In addition to the intuitive side of action and memory he is also interested in a shared nostalgia. This leads Robertson to depict the logos and ideologies of consumerism as an invasive force upon the inner psyche. As Robertson explains, “I hijack well-known symbols from commercially produced products, places, and services and use them as a kind of cultural hieroglyph. Once under my creative control they link personal experience into larger societal meta-narratives."

Licked, 2016, digital collage with oil on panel, 11' x 17"

Bryan Robertson is a visual artist based in Saint Louis Missouri. Robertson received a Master’s of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2016. He has been selected for many national group shows including: Predictions and Perceptions (2017), Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, Palmer Lake, Colorado; The Chocolate and Art Show (2017), The B-Complex, Atlanta, Georgia; Luck of the Draw (2017), The Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, Missouri; Serendipity (2016), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis Missouri; Americana (2016), Tsuga Fine Arts, Bothell, Washington; Inspiración del Peru (2016), Metropolist, Seattle, Washington; Shedding and Shredding (2015), The Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle, Washington; eARThworks (2012), The St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis Missouri; The Ann Metzger National Multimedia Exhibit (2010), St. Louis Artist’s Guild, St. Louis, Missouri. His recent solo exhibition was Inverted Utopia (2016), the Parc Condominiums, Seattle, Washington.

Robertson’s work has also been published in Studio Visit Magazine (Volume 33). In 2013 Robertson received the Product Invention and Creativity Center Thesis award from the Missouri University of Science and Technology and worked with a group of Mechanical Engineering students on a design project. While at the University of Washington Robertson won the Parnassus Graduating with Excellence award given to the top student from each year’s MFA class. Recent other awards include Jacob Lawrence Graduate Recognition award (2016), the Puget Sound Artists Scholarship grant (2016), and the Vermont Studio Center Artists grant (2016). Robertson is currently an Adjunct Professor of art and design at Jefferson College; Hillsboro, Missouri.