Robert Kushner

Robert Kushner

US 1949-

American artist Robert Kushner, born in 1949, is lauded for his pivotal role in the Pattern and Decoration movement, which emerged in the 1970s as a response to Modernism's disregard for art forms branded as feminine or insubstantial. Kushner's artistic expressions blend an array of inspirations, from O'Keeffe’s paintings to Islamic fabrics and Qi Bashi’s brushwork, crafting pieces that are at once decorative and emotively potent. His signature style fuses vibrant color palettes with energetic line work, marrying naturalistic motifs with abstract shapes along with reinterpreted still life paintings influenced by Matisse.

His recent creations introduce a fresh perspective on geometric patterns that contrasted to his florals, both complementing the more organic elements within his compositions. Kushner's murals are displayed internationally, and his achievements include participation in multiple Whitney and Venice Biennales; his works are in the collections of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum and Brooklyn Museum, and at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art.

TABORSPACE CLASS

This lesson incorporated several techniques that we

explored in recent classes and tied them together to

create mixed media Kushner inspired art. They began

by creating papers with various colors, designs and

patterns. These were used to collage onto colorful

backgrounds using paint sticks and markers.

ABERNETHY CLASSES