SFA artist Roberts’ work showing at Tyler gallery; selected by Glasstire for Top Five

An exhibition of work by Shaun Roberts, associate professor of art at Stephen F. Austin State University and painting area coordinator, is showing through Aug. 7 at Gallery Main Street, Tyler. The exhibition was selected by Glasstire, the oldest online art magazine in the country dedicated to promoting visual arts in Texas, as one of its Top Five Art Events for the week of July 18.

Featuring a collection of Roberts’ most recent paintings, “Reflections and Omens” is his first solo exhibition at the civic Gallery Main Street organized and curated by Dace Kidd. Throughout the paintings, one can find themes of “desperation, the enduring human spirit, and its capacity for redemption,” according to a Gallery Main Street description.

“Time and place are unmoored, conjuring a post-industrial society, perhaps depicting another era or universe altogether,” Roberts explains. “My paintings attempt to unearth and understand mysteries and terrors about ourselves. The characters are in ambiguous settings, possibly post-war, ecological disasters, economic collapse, or what your imagination may conjure. Common symbols and allegories tie the works together, ranging from bells to divining rods in an almost ritualistic manner that could represent superstitions developed in an attempt to sustain life.”

Roberts received his BFA in painting from SFA in 2010 and earned his MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Washington in 2012. Upon graduation from the University of Washington, he was awarded the Joan Mitchel Foundation Grant for graduating MFA students. Last summer, he was awarded a residency to work alongside painter Odd Nerdrum in Norway. Roberts has shown in several group and solo exhibitions spanning more than 20 states, including First Street Gallery, New York; Art Museum of South East Texas; Southern Mississippi Museum of Art; Eastern Kentucky University; Museum of East Texas; and the Gadsden Museum of Art, Alabama.

Roberts states that what interests him in this newest collection, regardless of setting or circumstance, are “the interactions of the characters with one another or with the viewer, and how a kind of community exists and supports one another even when things seem to be falling apart.”

“Today, storytelling is more relevant than ever as we have become immersed in digital worlds, where our devices have replaced meaningful relationships, detached us from reality, and distorted our perception of empathy,” he explains. “Engaging the paintings is tantamount to watching our fate snap back to us like a boomerang. They delve deep into the ambivalent nature of our society. By highlighting the simultaneity of time and experience in our divisive world, these works capture the perils of today’s news while also painting unsettling portraits of what may lie ahead. Within each work, a vein of grace pulses, a redemptive potential yearning to be tapped.”

For more information about Roberts’ work, visit shaunrobertspainting.com. For more information about the SFA School of Art, visit sfasu.edu/art. Gallery Main Street is located at 110 North College Avenue, Suite 105, Tyler.