Connections II

Invitational Group Show

Robert Forte, formerly Deputy Solicitor General of the State of New York, studied painting at the Art Students League in New York with Cornelia Foss, and figurative drawing with Minerva Durham at Spring Studio in New York. Forte has also participated in advanced painting workshops in New York at the National Academy Museum School of Fine Arts with Philip Pearlstein, and at the School of Visual Arts. Forte has exhibited in notable venues including Atlantic Gallery, New York City, 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, N.Y., St. Francis Gallery, in Lee, MA, Art-on-Main in Great Barrington, MA, and Front Street Gallery in Housatonic, MA. Forte’s work has been showcased in the Artful Mind, a Berkshire County, MA publication which also featured him on the cover and in an in-depth interview. His work is currently on display in Important World Artists, and also will be published in Current Masters, vol. 3, both international publications. Forte has been a member of Atlantic Gallery since 2016. His paintings are represented in numerous private collections in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New Jersey.

Over the past two years, I have sought to create a body of work which emphasizes personal themes as well as themes that are emotionally charged and excite my imagination. Moving away from realism but unable to find an affinity with abstraction, I began to develop an individual visual vocabulary, in oils and acrylics, sometimes combining the two. It has, and remains, my goal to express ideas that combine my passion for paint with the thrill of using my imagination to achieve a heightened perception of myself as well as of more universal themes. Paintings such as *Checkmate * and *Unforgiving *look to my past for inspiration. Two works in the show, by contrast, rely on imagery expressive of my love of music: *Kundry’s Garden,* which has its roots in Wagner’s opera *Parsifal, *and the self-explanatory *Singin’ the Blues. *Piaf also makes an appearance, but the underlying message there is the power of love and the devastation of loss. I hope that my paintings will draw the viewer into my world. I also hope that there is a common ground for the viewer to think about the ideas and emotions that have captivated me, and to experience them through the design, color and boldness of imagery displayed on the canvases.