Robert Shirk

Artist Statement

Artist Statement:

My figurative paintings are created on multiple sheets of layered plexiglass. Each sheet of clear plexiglass contains thousands of tiny dots that create part of the final image. The effect creates a Neo-Pointillist 3 dimensional kinetic image that moves and changes as the viewer’s perspective changes.

I’ve been influenced by the 1960’s optical and kinetic art of Israeli artist Yaacov Agam. Also the French Pointillist painters of the 1880’s, American photorealist painter Chuck Close, and the dramatic lighting of Dutch master Rembrandt van Ryan.

My aesthetic focus is to create an image of drama, beauty and sensuality. Not just with the subject matter, but with the composition, materials and application of color. An image that is fun to view with unexpected surprises.

I love watching the dance and delight of the viewers eyes while discovering the movement, harmony and depth created by layer upon layer of images in my Neo-Pointillist paintings. I am constantly reinventing the way I create images. Always searching for a playful bridge between the 3 dimensions of sculpture, and the 2 dimensions of painting.