March 18 through April 25, 2011
Robert Lombardo: Studio Works
Artist's reception Friday, March 18, 2011, from 6 to 9 p.m..

Artist Statement:

"Educationally and opportunistically squandered, I occasionally dissolve into a sometime conscious blur stream of comically valued socially awkward pseudo sexual non-encounters, painfully recounted by others, leaving the laborious search for quiet and internal heroics as a no thank you sir tediousity, recollection of lifetimes shortened.

"I am the primary collector of my work, although pieces have filtered to private and institutional collections. I have used up the good will of many friends and family to safeguard the work, yet still prefer to keep it close, much to the dissatisfaction of my wife. My history of exchanging the work for money has left a trail of mishandled dollars, IRS levies, and works no longer available to me.Having owned and operated two galleries in St. Louis, I still seem unable to mobilize any monetary armies for the liberation of my own cluttered studio.

"Not finding it valuable that I understand every nook and cranny, I’m OK knowing that it usually seems to work. The canvas is always the test. If I understand it immediately, it usually signals failure, and I toss it. If I don’t understand what’s going on, it’s probably working, and I keep it. You got to trust that something will crystallize as the canvas matures. That’s usually the case, although not always. Sometime stupidity rules, and we all know that failure is a persistent and comic demon. Life’s a veil of tears baby, but there’s usually room for good jazz. Toss it if it doesn’t work, keep it if it does. Nobody wants to hear the same riff over, and over, and over again. This ain’t rocket science this is Art, and if it ain’t a kick in the ass, why would anybody want to do it.

"I try not to get suckered into liking it, and so far I’ve avoided being killed by it. I can’t retire on it, but I don’t need to retire from it either. I’d almost always prefer to do anything else, and frequently I’m tired of talking about it." - Robert Lombardo

The Nu-Art Series is a Not-for-Profit Arts Organization.