Spartanburg artist Robert Urban’s latest mixed media works use trees “as a metaphor for family and the relationships we all hold dear within the family circle and beyond.” The contemporary landscapes will be shown in the “Push & Pull: New Work” exhibit Jan. 7 through Feb. 22, 2025, in the Solomon Gallery of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
An artist’s reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, as part of Spartanburg ArtWalk. The reception and exhibition viewing are free and open to the public. The 30-plus pieces in the show will be offered for purchase with prices ranging from $150 to $5,000.
“Nature, and specifically trees, are used as metaphors to represent the passage of time, within nature itself, of course, but also within our human relationships – our family, friends and communities,” says Urban, originally from Wisconsin. “The exhibition title refers to the many different forces and ways that we experience either a ‘push’ or a ‘pull’ – our interactions within nature, relationships and our communities.”
The art in the exhibit was inspired by Urban’s family and friends, he adds. “Trees have a complex network of branches and roots that also represent the complexities of our relationships and how they grow and develop. Trees symbolize strength, resilience, growth and the interconnectedness of everything around us.”
Urban says visitors to the exhibit will see a contemporary approach to landscape art. “Vivid colors, often layered many times in the buildup of each artwork, reflect the passage of time in the artwork itself, but also as a metaphor for time passing within our lives. I hope people will appreciate my mixed media approach to contemporary landscape art.”
His approach is not a traditional one, he says. “My art primarily reflects the ongoing struggle to coexist between nature and humankind. This is achieved through the development of my own personal symbology, representing this ongoing saga and my perception of it.
“This is my effort to create a sense of meaning from the world – order from chaos and chaos from order,” Urban continues. “This is revealed through numerous layers that build up over time, much like the layers that create our lives. These layers are added and then removed through various methods. Thus, my theme of opposition is represented in the artistic process itself – creation and destruction.”
Personal interactions within the environment – a bike ride, hike, trail run, park visit or some other outing in nature – often serve as his muse, Urban says. “The layering process I use when I paint is evolutionary; I never quite know exactly where it will take me visually or conceptually. The idea and the artwork grow, sometimes over several weeks depending on the size I’m working on, as I create the image. As I paint, more details emerge regarding the artwork’s meaning, thus finding me, so to speak. This way of working creates an element of surprise, which I find exciting.
“Depicting the beauty of nature, even in a non-traditional way, reflects an obvious appreciation for what the natural world offers to us,” he continues. “Environmental concerns for Earth affected by human interaction, remain just below the surface of each artwork I create.”
Urban attended the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts, which he says allowed him to recognize his passion for art. “I knew then that art would be a major force in my life.”
His love of long-distance running, another of his “life’s passions,” influenced his appreciation for the outdoors. “Nature provided ample motivation for my creative pursuits,” he says. “Endurance sports also provided me with reflective time to meditate and the ability to look inward while taking in the beauty of the landscape.”
After earning his BFA in 1990 from the University of South Carolina, Urban packed his art supplies and moved to California. While there, he pursued graduate work in studio art at California State University at Sacramento and the San Francisco Art Institute. He returned to South Carolina and earned a master’s degree in art education and spent five years teaching in the Columbia area before accepting his current position at Dorman High School in Spartanburg, where he has taught for the past 26 years.
In 2007 he was awarded the South Carolina Secondary Art Educator of the Year Award and the following year his work was selected for inclusion in the inaugural international art publication Art Buzz: The 2008 Collection. Once again in 2011, his artwork was selected for the fourth edition of Art Buzz: The 2011 Collection. Also in 2011, Urban was selected for the book “Artists Among Us: 100 Faces of Art in Spartanburg.” In 2015, he was one of 18 Upstate South Carolina artists whose artwork was selected for inclusion of the interior of the Greenville Aloft Hotel. He was named Dorman High School’s “Teacher of the Year” in 2018 and was chosen as the Spartanburg County School District Six “Teacher of the Year” in 2019. Urban’s artwork is in collections throughout the Carolinas, the United States, Denmark, Switzerland and South Korea.
‘I am thankful for the opportunity to present at the Artists Collective | Spartanburg the largest body of new work I have ever exhibited,” Urban says.
For more about Robert Urban and his art, go to www.roberturbanart.com.