Robert Townsend Artist Focus

ARTIST FOCUS July 11-23, 2016

Gunslinger, Watercolor on Paper, 42″ x 49″

Robert Townsend

Jackson Hole ArtWalk: July 21, 5-8pm

ALTAMIRA FINE ART JACKSON

Altamira Fine Art Jackson is pleased to present an artist focus of Robert Townsend’s new work July 11-23, 2016 and during the Jackson Hole ArtWalk Thursday, July 21 from 5-8pm.

Presales available. Call 307-739-4700 or email connect@altamiraart.com

The Artist Focus will feature watercolor and oil paintings in sizes ranging from 24 x 24 to 60 x 60 inches. Robert’s pop photo realist style and vibrant color are perfectly matched with eye catching subject matter including retro matchbooks, monumental mouth-watering donuts, collector’s Mickey Mouse clocks and a new rendering from his latest body of work Painting Helen. “ My work is often discussed as being about mid-century Americana, about a time before my time, and about a detailed style of painting. These are all certainly true. However…I have a dreamer’s life and mind, and my dreams just happen to be about the 1950’s and 60’s in America. But it’s the dreaming that tells the real story…I have this fascination with expressing these utopian notions, fantasies of candies and pies, household products and visions of the American roads. I’m glad to have my daily dreams and I hope to share these dreams and a few smiles through my paintings as well.” ~ Robert Townsend

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

ROBERT TOWNSEND

ALTAMIRA FINE ART JACKSON

Robert Townsend was born in Downey, California in 1974. His unfailing eye for color and texture produce a vision of America’s material culture that vacillates between nostalgia for what is lost and optimism for the continuation of American ingenuity.

Townsend’s aesthetic draws heavily from his California upbringing and life in Los Angeles. Sighting American painters Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Bechtle as primary influences, Townsend’s work is a mixture of pop, photo-realism, surrealism and representational interpretations of largely mid-century subject matter. His exceptional technical ability is complemented by a painterly approach to color and design, with occasional whimsical elements adding a playfulness to his skillfully crafted watercolors and oils.

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SHOW CATALOG

ALTAMIRA FINE ART JACKSON

ROBERT TOWNSEND

PAINTINGS

Mickey, Watercolor on Paper, 33.5″ x 36″

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PAINTINGS

Donut Heaven, Oil on Canvas 44″ x 44″

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PAINTINGS

Gunslinger, Watercolor on Paper, 43″ x 49″

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PAINTINGS

Lunchtime at Nickerson’s, Oil on Panel, 55″ x 82″

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PAINTINGS

The Griddle, Oil, 27″ x 71″

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LIMITED EDITION

Close Cover Before Striking, Edition of 40 Giclee, 33.5″ x 33.5″

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LIMITED EDITION

Sweetheart, Edition of 40 Giclee, 33.5″ x 33.5″

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LIMITED EDITION

Just Kay and Patty!, Edition of 75 Giclee, 49.5″ x 35.5″

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LIMITED EDITION

Greetings From Jackson Hole, Edition of 150 Giclee 35.5″ x 35.5″

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Painting Helen

Robert with his painting “Lunchtime at Nickerson’s”

“Lunchtime at Nickerson’s” is the second in a series of paintings featuring Helen of Indiana (pictured on the left). The series will be the focus of an upcoming documentary which chronicles the story of Helen, the journey that led the artist to the project, and the making of the incredible, larger than life paintings.

Robert Townsend fills us in on the start of his journey, Painting Helen.

This is the beginning of the story of my connection to Helen of Indiana. Near the end of 2014, I obtained a few vintage amateur slides and the subject was one wonderfully festive woman with 16

About eight months ago, I created a painting of one of the images...’Mod woman with a friend’, standing in front of a carport.. In the first painting, I named the featured women “Kay” and “Patty”, not knowing their true identities.

“Just Kay and Patty”

“Just Kay and Patty” sold and I started another painting of Mod woman, this time with a different friend, standing in a parking lot at a roadside gas station. One of my collectors recognized the structure and said, “Hey, that’s Nickerson’s!”, and 17

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jet black hair, mod dresses, and a great big smile. After a little inquiry, I discovered the slides were from a very large collection. I made multiple attempts to purchase the collection in its entirety, with no luck.

ROBERT TOWNSEND

indeed it was Nickerson’s, an A-frame restaurant and gas station, located halfway between Phoenix and Tuscon. Though long out of business, its desert ruins remain.

As I started this second “Kay” painting, I decided to make one more attempt at obtaining the entire slide collection. This time I got lucky! After 14 months of trying, I finally received 2,968 slides of “Kay”. The collection was incredible...images of Kay and her husband, siblings, nieces and friends. Kay traveled extensively; Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Canada, even Ireland, as well as twenty annual trips to Hawaii.

As I looked through the slides one evening, I noticed a tiny detail in one slide that opened a new door. Kay and her husband, who I was going to call “Jack”, were standing next to each other, wearing name tags. Name tags! It turns out “Kay and Jack” were actually Helen and Roy! Moreover, the name tags included their last names, which I will be sharing with you in the future.

Over the next couple weeks, I did a little research and found out more about Helen and Roy. They were married just days after Helen’s 18th birthday and soon had a house built in Indiana. They never had children, but Helen had many nieces, which accompanied the couple on many of their travels.

Helen and Roy were married for 69 years before 18

After a bit more effort, I was able to locate one of Helen’s nieces, who now lives in Florida. The unfolding experience has been surreal. I feel I have received this huge gift box and each time I unwrap it, I find more gifts inside. Helen’s niece has been happy to share many stories of her aunt she loved so much. I had plans to paint images of Helen with some of her then-teenage nieces, and of course, one of them is the very niece that I have been talking to.

This continues to unfold, and I will be creating many more paintings of Helen, Roy, the nieces, and their family and friends. A documentary film chronicaling the story, the slides, the wonderful Helen, and her loving family, is now in production.

Though I didn’t know Helen and Roy, we all have people that are dear to us, that have touched our lives, and are no longer with us. We remember their smiles and their laughs. We might remember their pot roast or their porch swing, or their goofy backyard pool parties. Helen and Roy live within all of us! Let’s all celebrate those happy times and lovely people.

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Roy’s passing. Helen passed at the age of 93, having lived in that same house in Indiana until just before her passing.

Upcoming Shows

at Altamira Fine Art Jackson Artist Focus: Robert Townsend July 11-23, 2016 • ArtWalk Reception: July 21, 5-8pm Artist Focus: Jivan Lee “Atmosphere” August 1-6, 2016 • Artist Event: August 3, 3-6pm Dennis Ziemienski: “Celebrating Our National Parks” August 15-27, 2016 • ArtWalk Reception: August 18, 5-8pm Artist Focus: Duke Beardsley August 29-September 3, 2016 Fritz Scholder Exhibition September 5-18, 2016 • ArtWalk Reception: September 14, 5-8pm Travis Walker: “Out There” September 20-October 1, 2016 • Artist Reception: September 22, 5-8pm Todd Kosharek Exhibition October 3-15, 2016 • Artist Reception: October 6, 5-8pm

2 LOCATIONS: JACKSON, WY + SCOTTSDALE, AZ

172 Center Street | Jackson, Wyoming | 307.739.4700 7038 E. Main Street | Scottsdale, Arizona | 480.949.1256 For more information on gallery artists visit www.altamiraart.com