Artist Robert Stickloon will be exhibiting his “Contemporary Still Life Paintings”, at the Bethlehem Town Hall Rotunda Gallery from August 18 to September 24, 2024.  There will be an opening reception on Sunday, August 18 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.  The Rotunda Gallery is located at 10 E. Church Street.  Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The exhibition is composed of ordinary, everyday still life subjects in oils and drawings.  Objects that would be commonly categorized in the Pop Art genre, but in this case, not rendered in a slick, flat poster-like, Pop Art style ala Warhol or Lichenstein.  Robert tries to portray the subjects in a more classical approach in the sense of employing a stricter technique respecting drawing practices that emphasize the “thingness”, solidity, presence, and perspective of the objects.  He attempts to make them hyper real, not in the photorealistic sense, but by exaggerating the properties of the proportions, the intensity of the color, and the scale of the thing to an obviously greater degree.

Robert recently retired from teaching drawing and painting at the Penn State University Schuykill Campus after 35 years.  He now works on his art totally uninterrupted.  He earned a B.S. and M.Ed in art education from Kutztown University, and a M.F.A. from Idaho State University.  A total formalist.  he addresses the basic elements and principles of design, choosing his subjects for the challenges they present. 

Although both Robert’s wet and dry medium pieces may initially be perceived as merely black and white, he strives to achieve another dimension to the value scale of his imagery by pushing the warm and cool properties of the materials through their selection and handing. He will also stretch out the spectrum of the lights to darks to enhance and give his subject matter a greater presence.

Robert has shown nationally and is represented by several galleries.  He continues to show in national juried competitions wining numerous prizes.  He has shown at the Pennsylvania Art of the State Annual Juried Exhibition numerous times.  His work is in the collection of the State Museum of Pennsylvania and the American Embassy in Moldova.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission (www.bfac-lv.org).