Robert Sweeney: Landscapes of the Connecticut River Valley

William Baczek Fine Arts, in Northampton, Massachusetts is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new oil paintings by Robert Sweeney. The exhibition will be on display from Wednesday, February 14 through Saturday, April 1, 2023. The public is invited to an opening reception with the artist on Saturday, February 18 from 4 to 6 pm.

This new series of oil paintings by Robert Sweeney depicts scenes from the Connecticut River Valley. The exhibition includes paintings specifically of the Connecticut River, but also of the farmlands, marshes, and the towns, cities and industrial landscapes  created by the effects of a major river. About this exhibition, the artist states: “This series of paintings began as an exploration of the landscape of the Connecticut River as it flows over 400 miles through four states. For most of my life, the Connecticut River has been a constant presence. The river and its environs have helped to define my sense of space and light. It is always providing painterly drama for me as it moves through the landscape, contrasting with fields, woods, cities, towns, and mills. The rich fertile valley soil is never far from sight or smell and the textures and patchwork patterns of its fields play against the surrounding hills. The unique “sense of place” this river valley provides for me continues to profoundly inspire my work as a painter. I have worked intermittently from this motif for over 40 years.”

Robert Sweeney's oil paintings subtly blend the personal with the technical, skillfully drawing in elements from the history of painting and personal moments and details. His process begins working directly from nature, where he is drawn to complex compositions and “highly charged” moments of light and atmosphere. Bringing these ideas back to the studio, he tempers his direct observations with memory and imagination. He seeks to uncover what he calls, “a unique presence of mood and gesture not limited to the sum of its parts.”

Robert Sweeney has taught painting and drawing at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts for over 30 years. Now the William R. Mead Professor of Art, he was commissioned to paint two portraits of Emily Dickinson for the college’s portrait gallery in 2019. He holds an MFA from Boston University School of Visual Arts, and has exhibited in the Mead Art Museum, Brattleboro Museum, Springfield Museum of Fine Art, Rose Art Museum at Brandeis, and the Holyoke Museum.

Selections from this exhibition and other works by gallery artists can be seen on the gallery’s web site at www.wbfinearts.com.  For more information about this or upcoming exhibits please call the gallery at 413-587-9880 or send an email to info@wbfinearts.com. The gallery is located at 36 Main St. in downtown Northampton, Massachusetts and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 12 pm – 5 pm.