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Painting & Drawing

Robert Martin earned their BFA in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (2017), and is a current MFA candidate in Studio Practices at the University of Colorado-�鶹ӰԺ (Painting & Drawing, 2021). They have exhibited at GOCA in Colorado Springs, Sierra Arts Gallery in Reno, IDS Tower in Minneapolis, the Valley in Taos, and locally around �鶹ӰԺ. They were 2020 Rough Gems Curator at Union Hall in Denver, a 2019 NEST Grant recipient at CU-�鶹ӰԺ, and their work was featured in UW-Stout’s 2017 Journal of Student Research.

Statement:

I am creating work that visually presents as (or perhaps somewhere near) wildlife art. That is, I am using the visual language and motifs of this genre to communicate queer themes, identities, and storylines on the rural American stage. Conversely, in generating wildlife art, I extend an invitation to those who may feel excluded by the sometimes elitist nature of the art world and its institutions. It’s important that my work acts as a bridge rather than present as a Trojan horse. I am interested in generating conversation over critique; between the queer community and rural America, between the canonized fine arts and the commodified wildlife arts, across wealth brackets and beyond a gender binary.