Artist Statement
My work combines the visual and the conceptual. I want the visual statement to be profound, to be questioning and to be a source of inspiration and of beauty.
Conceptually, my work often speaks about hope, about humor and about the human condition: what it is and what it could be. Currently I am working primarily in oil painting, sculpture and mosaic murals. In my paintings I work with layers of intense color creating a deep almost primeval feeling space. My sculptures are outdoor installations using steel, stone, glass, wood and mosaic. The sculptures often have a political or social motif. The murals are often done in collaboration with community organizations.
I have a vision of a peaceful world, a world based on justice, compassion and human dignity. As an artist my work comes from that vision and from the understanding of how different that vision is from reality. I attempt in my work to impact on an emotional level, to evoke laughter, tears or anger. It is the purpose of art, I believe, to confront, to challenge, to force the viewer to see and think about the world in a new and more profound way. It is my hope that experiencing my work will be one of perhaps many events that will influence people to envision and work for a more humane and just world.
Bio
Robert Markey is an artist who has worked in many media over the years including painting, sculpture, installation, video and mosaics. He has done public art projects in cities around the country including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston and Minneapolis. His first video was aired on PBS, and he received national media coverage for his public performance work on domestic violence. He has done mosaic murals in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Israel, India and the U.S. and for the past several years he has traveled to Asia and Brazil to work with youth in vulnerable situations to do mosaic murals.
He currently works out of his studio in Ashfield, Massachusetts and teaches at the Springfield Museum School.
