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NAS exhibit showcases UD prof's paintings
1:51 p.m., May 11, 2006--Robert Straight, UD art professor and associate chairperson of the Department of Fine Art and Visual Communications, is exhibiting 10 acrylic paintings in a solo show that will run through Oct. 13, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Titled “Toroids and Plaids: Paintings by Robert Straight,” the exhibit will include four acrylic paintings on canvas and six acrylic paintings on paper that showcase Straight's style of superimposing plaids, patterns with lines that cross, with toroids, curved lines that never meet. “I consider myself an abstract artist, although I don't care to have my work limited to a specific niche,” Straight, who started out as a figurative artist, said. Influenced by artists such as Francis Bacon, Richard Diebenkorn and Jim Nutt, Straight, who has taught at the University for 25 years, said that he arrived at his current style of painting over time. “When you are seriously involved in a creative activity, one thing leads to another,” he said. “Over the years, ideas accumulate and some are rejected while others have possibilities that seem worth exploring, and those grow and change over time. Getting to know who you are as an artist and what you want from your work ultimately forms the paintings.” About his paintings, Straight said that he draws indirectly from patterns he finds in life when composing, drawing in particular from patterns of human habitation and community. “First and foremost, these are visual, handmade objects,” Straight said, “and when I'm working on a painting, this is my main concern. However, I have certain thoughts about where these paintings come from, and what they mean to me. I keep thinking of how the populations of the world seem to be concentrated in clusters attached by webs or nets, and also how clusters show up as structural devices in nature.
Straight received his bachelor's degree from California State University, Long Beach, and his masters in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He has had almost 30 solo exhibits throughout the United States, and in 1997, the Delaware Art Museum did a solo exhibit of his work from the previous 10 years. Additionally, Straight has participated in more than 100 group exhibits at various galleries and museums, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Aldrich Art Museum and McKenzie Fine Arts in New York City. Locally, Straight's work is represented in Philadelphia by Schmidt/Dean Gallery, and he has paintings in several public and corporate collections, including the Delaware Art Museum, Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, American Express and various other corporations across the nation. The National Academy of Sciences is located at 2100 C Street, NW, in Washington, D.C. The phone number of the Academy is (202) 334-2436. The web site address is [www.nationalacademies.org/arts]. A lecture by Straight, followed by a reception at the academy, is set for 1:30-3:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 10. Additionally, Straight will exhibit his work in another solo show, “Mystical Geometry: Webs and Structure,” from Sept. 15-Oct. 29, at the Rehoboth Art League, in Henlopen Acres, Rehoboth Beach. An opening reception will be held from 5-7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 15. For more information about Straight and his work, visit [www.robertstraight.com]. Article by Becca Hutchinson
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