In the Studio with Robin Tewes
Self -Isolation during the Pandemic
I think many artists are equipped for this experience of isolation since working in one’s studio requires time and ability to endure and enjoy that. To some extent it has been refreshing to have a more simplified lifestyle. It has enabled me to paint more and relieve me of any guilt or regret that I’m not attending or missing anything, since everything is on hold and closed. As an artist it has been my pattern to socialize and then retreat into my studio to digest, purge and make sense of it all. The painting that I’m working on during this pandemic is definitely about that. I have also been working on The Movie Theatres and Underwater/Men in Trouble Series but this piece has taken priority and is the purge I need to do at this time. I think the vivid colors are an expression of the inner scream I’m feeling regarding current events and the compact imagery is a reaction to the visual quiet, being alone and isolated from the hustle and bustle of people and outside activity. It is also inspired by the drawing lessons I have been teaching my students online. I’m using materials that are in my studio only. I like that idea of being self-contained and self-sufficient. I found a forgotten piece of primed linen, 40”x 86”. It has a smooth surface perfect for drawing on. I make spontaneous drawings and then add color of what I’m feeling, hearing and thinking about at that moment. I’m having a lot of fun working on it and it is keeping me sane for sure.
Robin Tewes was born in Queens New York in 1950. She received her BFA from Hunter College in 1978 and her MST from Pace University in 2012. She is the Recipient of many notable and prestigious awards, including the 2008 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Painting Award, the 2007 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Award, and the 2004 and 1989 New York Foundation for the Arts-Painting. Some residency awards include: Brydcliffe, Ucross, VSC, VCCA, Djerassi, The Sam & Adele Golden Foundation, Abbey Mural Workshop, National Academy of Art. In 2016 she was included in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Selected solo exhibitions include: Paynes Gallery Morvian College, Texas A&M Wright Gallery, Adam Baumgold Gallery, Headbones Gallery, Klapper Hall Gallery, Bill Maynes Gallery, John Weber Gallery, Rutgers University, Spencertown Academy of Art, Emily Sorkin Gallery, Figensten Gallery, Pace University, Untitled Space (2 person show). Some group exhibitions include: Untitled Space, P.S. 1, P.S. 122 Painting Association, The Drawing Center, Heller Museum, Aldridge Museum, Whitney Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Hunterdon Museum, Weatherspoon Museum, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Bejing, Pelham Center of Art, A.I.R. Gallery, Corcoran, The Drawing Center, White Columns, Tampa Museum of Art, Snug Harbor Museum, Smithsonian Archives of American Art, Zimmerli Museum, Bill Maynes Gallery, John Weber Gallery, Hewitt Gallery, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Adam Baumgold gallery. Became a founding member of P.S.122 Painting Association and now on the Board of Directors. She has been included recently in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Her work has been recognized and written about in NY Times, Village Voice, The Drawing Society, Soho News, Artforum, Artnews, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The Sun, Art in America, Tema Celeste, and Arts to name a few.
www.robintewes.com
During Quarantine, Work In Progress, Canvas, Acrylic, 40”x86”, 2020
Details of During Quarantine, Work In Progress, 2020
Movie Theatres #1-8, Oil on Canvas, 26”x30” each, 2016-2020
Disrobing Under Water #1-3, Oil on Canvas, 56”x38” each, 2017
Movie Theatre, The End, Oil on Canvas, 26”x30”, 2018
In Or Out, Oil on Canvas, 42”x32”, 2019
Abstract Art #1, Oil on Birch, 26”x24”, 2016