Linda Hodges Gallery presents a new exhibit of paintings by Skagit
Valley native Robert McCauley. McCauley's new work melds landscapes with
animals, not in a natural landscape, but rather in an artifice - much like a
diorama. These tableaus are not specific places, but a stereotype of
romanticized landscapes from 19th century painting. The artist's animals
gather together and rewrite their own relationships, contrary to the history
man has written for them. Benevolent and nurturing, birds, bears, turtles
and other denizens of McCauley's menagerie gaze peacefully at the viewer.
McCauley's earlier work incorporated text on the perimeter, but in his new
painting the message is strictly visual. Richly colored, the paintings are
enhanced by a deep glazing technique usually found in portrait painting.
Robert McCauley was born and raised in Mt. Vernon, Washington. He
graduated from Western Washington University in 1969, and received his
Master of Fine Arts Degree from Washington State University in 1972. He is
currently professor and Chairman of the Art Department at Rockford College
in Illinois. McCauley has earned many prestigious awards including a
Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982 and the
Illinois Arts Council in 1999. He was recently featured in a show entitled
"Natural Acts," at the Palo Alto Arts Center, Palo Alto, California.
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