Cv/bio

Robert Beck is an award-winning American artist whose representational oil paintings span many subjects and genres, and who is best known for his bold, from-life portrayals of fleeting events. Whether documenting the gale-force winds of a coastal storm, a theater performance from the back row of the balcony, the intensity of a hospital operating room, or a live broadcast from the Times Square set of ABC News, Beck enjoys creating art in high-energy situations. He thrives when working under difficult and distracting circumstances and enjoys being faced with the multiple challenges of motion, changing light, limited time, and his interaction with the world.

Even Beck’s quiet pieces are infused with the power of the moment. His urban night scenes, still lifes, landscapes, and portraits, are distilled versions of his experience with the subject, stocked with sensory information. Beck’s work provides a rich portrayal of the occupations, events, and artifacts of our time.

Of particular note are the documentary essays Beck creates while immersed in his subject. For example: 44 paintings of the contemporary American West, including a hundred-year-old Post Office and an electric generating plant that sucks coal straight from the ground; 15 paintings of a symphony orchestra season, painted from the string and tympani sections; and 16 paintings executed on a Mississippi towboat pushing 35 barges from St. Louis to Baton Rouge. “My ability to paint to the requirements of the moment is my ticket into some pretty interesting places,” says Beck.

In addition to painting from direct observation, Beck creates studio paintings that take the viewer to another layer of Beck’s interpretive process. These are images generated from recollection and imagination, sometimes using the live paintings to cement an impression.

Regardless of genre, Beck wants his paintings to elicit from the viewer a memory or association to those things that are often seen but seldom examined. “When I paint in a diner, don’t want to just show you the lunch counter,” he says, “I want you to hear the plates.”

Beck attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and cites Al Gury, Glenn Ruddorow, and Peter Paone as important influences. Over the last 15 years, his work has been exhibited in dozens of solo and group exhibitions. In 1999 he was invited to show 37 paintings at the James A Michener Art Museum . His accomplishments have been recognized with 20 awards in high-profile juried exhibitions. Beck has lectured at the Hunterdon Museum of Art and the Michener Museum , taught at the Lawrenceville School and at Artworks in Trenton , and served on the Board of the Academy of Fine Arts Fellowship . His Lambertville, New Jersey studio is a center of cultural activity in the region. Besides working as a full-time painter, Beck writes an art-related column for Prime Time magazine, and is a contributing writer for area newspapers.

Robert Beck was born in 1950, and lives with his partner, Doreen, and their dog in
in Bucks County , Pennsylvania , where he has lived most of his life. Additional work can be seen at his studio/gallery on weekends, 12-5 mostly, and by appointment on weekdays. For more information contact the artist at 609-397-5679 or rbeck@snip.net.

. (photo: Jeffrey Apoian)

Robert Beck Representational painting, all genre, documentary. Lambertville New Jersey

Robert Beck
Representational painting, all genre, documentary.
Lambertville New Jersey