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Robert Benton Race works in a variety of sculptural media and styles. He often builds through intuitive practice and finishes his pieces with paint or patina. As with much of his early illustration and painting, the human figure is a prominent concern in his sculpture. Human scale and modern, many of his recent pieces contemplate the cost of violence and politics through deconstructing the figure.
2012 • Paint, plaster, wood, and wire frame, five parts installation dimensions variable, each approx. 72 x 24 x 24 in (183 x 61 x 61 cm).
2016 • Oak, steel, acrylic paint, 75 x 15 x 12 in (190 x 38 x 30 cm).
Undated • Welded steel, approx. 36 in (91 cm) tall.
2012 • Concrete, steel, paint, found objects, approx. 60 x 24 x 36 in (152 x 60 x 91 cm) with base.
2018 • Black Walnut, 14 x 12 x 7 in (36 x 31 x 18 cm).
2018 • Black Walnut, 14 x 12 x 7 in (36 x 31 x 18 cm).
2010 • Plaster, paint, wire frame, found object, approx. 48 x 36 x 60 in (122 x 91 x 152 cm) with base.
2010 • Plaster, wire frame, paint, found objects, approx. 60 x 24 x 36 in (152 x 60 x 91 cm) with base.
2018 • Silver maple with white stain, 11 x 12 x 8 in (28 x 31 x 20 cm).
2018 • Silver maple with white stain, 11 x 12 x 8 in (28 x 31 x 20 cm).
Undated • Black Walnut, approx. 36 in (91 cm) tall.
Undated • Black Walnut, approx. 36 in (91 cm) tall.
2016 • Painted and carved oak pieces, size when installed is approx. 19 x 25 x 98 in (48 x 63 x 249 cm).
2016 • Painted and carved oak pieces, size when installed is approx. 19 x 25 x 98 in (48 x 63 x 249 cm).
2016 • Painted and carved oak pieces, size when installed is approx. 19 x 25 x 98 in (48 x 63 x 249 cm).
2018 • Silver maple and black walnut, 12 x 10 x 6 in (31 x 25 x 15 cm).
Robert Benton Race's social commentary paintings are often colorful and composed of a multitude of layered strokes. But unlike the pastoral and riparian scenes, these pieces make use of appropriated imagery and materials that are more in tune with pop and abstract movements than with impressionism. Serial works such as Saturn Devouring His Children are ongoing, searing critiques of power and social advantage that resonate most when viewed in total rather than as individual paintings. Other pieces, like Dilatation and Do Funny, are self-sufficient works and have layers of meaning—from the explicit critique of public figures to deeply personal, obscure emotive references. Unafraid to grapple directly with the issues of our time, Race is remarkable for his melding of the personal and political in a way that shows us these two aspects of life are never actually separate.
2006 • Acrylic on canvas with frame, 44 x 66 in (112 x 168 cm).
1999 • Acrylic on panel, 48 x 72 in (122 x 183 cm).
1994 • Acrylic on panel, 61 x 67 in (155 x 170 cm).
2000 • Acrylic on canvas with stitches, 42 x 86 in (107 x 218 cm).
2006 • Acrylic on canvas with stitches, 48 x 60 in (122 x 152 cm).
1996 • Acrylic on canvas with frame, 55 x 76 in (140 x 193 cm).
1995-97 • Acrylic on panel with frame and barbed wire, 50 x 64 in (127 x 163 cm).
1994 • Acrylic on panel with frame, 49 x 66 in (125 x 168 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on joined panels, 60 x 49 in (152 x 124 cm).
Saturn Devouring His Children is a series of mixed media pieces that appropriate found images and draw influence from modern art movements like Pop. Alone and together the works offer comment on the mediation of violence, political maneuvers, the interests they serve, and the human cost.
The individual pieces may be viewed singly or, as is the artist's preference, installed together as one artwork. Breaking into two sets by size, the larger are shown as aggressors while the smaller works depict the "devoured".
2003 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2003 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2007 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 35 in (135 x 89 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2007 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 35 in (135 x 89 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2007 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2003 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2003 • Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 53 x 34 in (135 x 86 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
2008 • Acrylic on paper, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
1998 • Acrylic on billboard segment, 34 x 21 in (86 x 53 cm).
Saturn Devouring His Children is a series of mixed media pieces that appropriate found images and draw influence from modern art movements like Pop. Alone and together the works offer comment on the mediation of violence, political maneuvers, the interests they serve, and the human cost.
The individual pieces may be viewed singly or, as is the artist's preference, installed together as one artwork. Breaking into two sets by size, the larger are shown as aggressors while the smaller works depict the "devoured".
1999 - 2008 • PDF file, variable size/configuration.
SKETCH: Photoshop and found gallery image (does not show an actual exhibition).
The landscapes of Robert Benton Race, which are in a style that owes much to California Impressionism, are born of a love of the outdoors and traditional painting. These works embody Race’s appreciation and understanding of his environment as the result of natural and domestic processes. For Race, the work is as much about seeing and painting as it is about his cultural and individual relationship to the land. His concentration on depicting agrarian land and rivers speaks to this and has antecedents in the work of artists like George Inness, Jacob van der Croos, and Monet.
2008 • Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in (46 x 91 cm).
2007 • Oil on canvas, 12 x 31 in (30 x 79 cm). Private collection.
2004 • Oil on panel, 20 x 35 in (51 x 89 cm).
2008 • Oil on panel, 16 x 35 in (41 x 69 cm).
2009 • Oil on panel, 12 x 20 in (30 x 51 cm).
2001 • Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in (41 x 51 cm). Private collection.
2001 • Oil on panel, 10 x 8 in (25 x 20 cm). Private collection.
2004 • Pencil, pastel and charcoal on paper, 5 x 9 in (13 x 23 cm). Private collection.
1992 • Charcoal on paper, 26 x 40 in (66 x 102 cm). Private collection.
2013 • Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 58 in (76 x 147 cm).
2003 • Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in (61 x 81 cm).
2001 • Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 36 in (41 x 91 cm).
2006 • Oil on panel, 18 x 22 in (46 x 56 cm).
2000 • Oil on mat board, 9 x 12 in (23 x 30 cm).
Outfall is a riverscape series by Robert Benton Race and is comprised mainly of painting though does also include works on paper. In this series Race uses the traditional format and impressionist method in combination with superimposed text to confront issues of pollution, water use, and watershed conservation.
Frigidaire • 2013. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 58 in (76 x 147 cm).
Outfall • 1992. Charcoal on paper, 26 x 40 in (66 x 102 cm). Private collection.
Still life is an integral part of Robert Benton Race's studio work. For him it provides a way to focus on the act of seeing and the practice of skills inherit to his creative process. In still life, Race is able to appreciate his subject with a clear mind and painterly joy.
1998 • Oil on canvas, 22 x 19 in (56 x 48 cm). Private collection.
1997 • Oil on canvas, 10 x 13 in (25 x 33 cm). Private collection.
2012 • Oil on canvas, 32 x 18 in (81 x 46 cm). Private collection.
1985 • Acrylic and metal on unstretched canvas, 39 x 23 in (99 x 58 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1986 • Acrylic and bamboo on unstretched canvas, 24 x 33 in (61 x 84 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 30 x 21 in (76 x 53 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1985 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas with bamboo, 24 x 13 in (61 x 33 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1985 • Acrylic on shirt and unstretched canvas, 24 x 33 in (61 x 84 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic unstretched canvas, 26 x 21 in (66 x 53 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 31 x 23 in (79 x 58 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1985 • Acrylic and cane seat fragment on unstretched canvas, 34 x 24 in (86 x 61 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1986 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 27 x 38 in (69 x 97 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1986 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 39 x 25 in (99 x 64 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1986 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 39 x 26 in (99 x 66 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1987 • Watercolor on stitched paper, 39 x 25 in (99 x 64 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1986 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 33 x 26 in (84 x 66 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1986 • Acrylic and zipper on unstretched canvas, 28 x 24 in (71 x 61 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic on stitched unstretched canvas with paper tag, 16 x 14 in (40 x 36 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic and bamboo on stitched unstretched canvas with paper tag, 16 x 15 in (40 x 38 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic and metal on unstretched canvas, 28 x 22 in (71 x 56 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1985 • Acrylic and bamboo on stitched unstretched canvas, 23 x 31 in (58 x 79 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1985 • Acrylic and bamboo on unstretched canvas, 30 x 23 in (76 x 58 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1984 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 21 x 29 in (53 x 74 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
1987 • Watercolor on stitched paper, 39 x 22 in (99 x 56 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
Non-referential abstract painting gives Race the opportunity to explore free flowing intuitive feelings that may refer to specific life events. They percolate and develop then are “taken out and emptied onto the canvas”, woven together with the formal aspects of painting. By the time a painting is complete, specific references to personal experience may not be visible but an emotional quality of the experience may remain and be felt.
There is a “duality” to this work that deals with the exterior and interior or physical and soul. It manifests itself through the use of value structure, which Race calls “between Dark and Light”, as well as shape, veiling, and vertical divisions of the canvas or panel.
His muses are external: the marks and scars of experience on the body, the patina on surfaces from ancient petroglyphs to rusty metal, peeling paint and cracks to contemporary graffiti. The internal also inspires: the effects of experience on the soul and spirit as well as contemplative observations of nature and civilization.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched painter’s tarp (canvas), 70 x 48 in (178 x 122 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on panel, 48 x 40 in (122 x 102 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2016 • Acrylic on panel, 36 x 48 in (91 x 122 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 60 x 54 in (152 x 137 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic on canvas, 41 x 59 in (104 x 150 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on panel, 48 x 40 in (122 x 102 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2016 • Acrylic on panel with canvas, 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic and on panel with canvas, 36 x 48 in (91 x 122 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic on canvas, 54 x 72 in (137 x 183 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic on canvas, 54 x 72 in (137 x 183 cm)
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on panel, 48 x 40 in (122 x 102 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched painter’s tarp (canvas), 72 x 108 in (183 x 274.32 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched painter’s tarp (canvas), 60 x 72 in (152 x 183 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on and graphite on panel, 56 x 41 in (142 x 104 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic and charcoal on panel, 48 x 40 in (122 x 102 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched painter’s tarp (canvas), 70 x 48 in (178 x 122 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched painter’s tarp (canvas), 72 x 108 in (183 x 274 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched painter’s tarp (canvas), 72 x 108 in (183 x 274 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 54 in (183 x 137 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic and charcoal on panel, 48 x 40 in (122 x 102 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 54 in (183 x 137 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic and charcoal on panel, 48 x 40 in (122 x 102 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2017 • Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 54 in (183 x 137 cm)
Photo by Grant Taylor.
2016 • Acrylic on paper, 22 x 44 in (56 x 112 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper with billboard segment.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on billboard segment.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on billboard segment.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper, 9 x 10 in (23 x 25 cm).
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper, 15 x 11 in (38 x 28 cm).
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper, 28 x 22 in (71 x 56 cm).
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper, 28 x 22 in (71 x 56 cm).
2016 • Acrylic on paper, 9 x 12 in (23 x 30 cm).
2016 • Acrylic on paper.
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on matboard, 14 x 10 in (36 x 25 cm).
2016 • Acrylic and charcoal on paper with billboard segment.
2016 • Acrylic on billboard segment.
2016 • Acrylic on paper with billboard segment.
2016 • Acrylic on paper with billboard segment, 11 x 14 in (28 x 36 cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2017 • Acrylic on unstretched canvas with grommets. h x w in (h x w cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2017 • Acrylic on canvas. h x w in (h x w cm).
2016 • Acrylic on canvas, 35 x 41 in (89 x 104 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 44 in (127 x 112 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2016 • Acrylic on paper billboard segment mounted to panel, 22 x 44 in (56 x 112 cm).
Photo by Colin Talcroft.
2013 • Acrylic on canvas, 44 x 66 in (112 x 168 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on canvas, 41 x 60 in (104 x 152 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on panel, 56 x 48 in (142 x 122 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on panel, 48 x 56 in (122 x 142 cm).
2007 • Acrylic on canvas, 56 x 40 in (142 x 102 cm).
