Robert Clay

ARTIST STATEMENT ​My work has evolved from botanical illustration to architectural renderings and ultimately evolving toward pure non-objective abstraction. Conversely, these current works draw upon a unification between the real and the surreal, the mundane and the sublime, concurrently representing objects of a natural and an envisioned landscape. I believe it is vital to the survival of every species that we recognize the importance and interrelatedness to which the influence even the smallest entities have upon the natural world. My representations of a world that is misaligned strives to emphasize the interdependence that any individual species has upon the whole and will furthermore emphasize our obligation to take the actions necessary to realign it. ABOUT THE ARTIST Robert Clay lives and works in the Schoodic Region of Down East Maine, USA. He crafts surrealist landscapes derived from the rugged coastal areas and expansive forests of Maine; concentrating on and abstracting the details of mundane natural objects such as the decaying forest floor, twisted trees, barnacles and coastal islands. Clay studied biology, 19th American art and humanities earning BS, BA and MA degrees from The Pennsylvania State University. Working primarily through drawing in pen as well as paintings in oil, these current works represent a reliance on skills that have been refined. His current work, as well as his early non-objective abstract oils are included in a variety of corporate and private collections. Born and having shown in Pennsylvania, he currently is included in exhibitions and shows along the coast of Maine.