Sneak Peeks - ROB TARBELL

Having good friends – who are talented artists – has some special rewards. Last weekend, Laura and I were invited by Rob Tarbell (and his wife Anna von Gehr) for dinner and a preview of his newest work which will be exhibited at Gallery Imperato. The show, "Smoke Rings" opens September 18, and runs through October 31. FYI: Gallery Imperato is in Baltimore.

Dinner, of course, was delicious and the conversation rousing; but, I can safely say, seeing Rob's new work was the highlight of the evening. Even better, he gave us a full explanation of his techniques and a little demo in his studio.

For those new to Rob's most recent body of work, his "Smokes", read his artist statement for an excellent introduction:

In my practice, making art is as much directing intent as it is about scientific tinkering. All of my diverse work is linked by the transformation and manipulation of traditional materials and the exploration of non-traditional ones. The loss of an original and the use of elaborate processes are inherent to the creation of each series. The work intends to both balance accident with control and give permanence to the ephemeral.

Smokes consist of images that are created by capturing smoke on paper as evidence of a transformation and preservation of the ephemeral. During the process, credit cards, grocery cards, gift cards, photos, and slides of my artwork are burned to remove their growing presence in daily life, an ironic nod to a self-help technique of burning sentimental things to remove their emotional burden.

The performing animal images in the Smokes parallel the drawing process. The trainer must recognize and respect the innate nature of an animal when trying to modify its behavior to achieve a desired outcome: e.g. training a bear to dance or training a horse to walk upright. The same is true in working with smoke. The inherent properties of smoke must be respected, then permitted to - and yet discouraged from - acting naturally.

There are other artists who dabble in "drawing" with smoke, but none do it like Rob. Rob’s work is precise, narrative and beautiful. Others are simply resigned to leaving the resulting image up to chance and dumb luck. It’s the thoughtfulness, skill and artistry that separate Rob’s work from others.

Laura and I give thanks to Rob and Anna for the preview (and dinner), and giving me the opportunity to encourage everyone to see the show and buy Rob's work.

[Images include – Top: Flying Alinga Flaming Ring, 60"x44"; Middle: Elephant Trick (1 Big Ball), 30"x22"; Bottom: Flying Alinga Jump, 44"x30"]