About the Artist

Robert Stanley is a painter and computer artist based in the Chicago area In his artwork, he evokes a disjointed world, while suggesting mystifying connections in life’s chaos. Both paintings and computer works combine real and abstract images in an edgy composition within an expressively textural field. Curator Gregg Hertzlieb wrote in a catalog essay that the work “sets up a dialogue between observation and invention, realism and abstraction that grows into a lively, even stormy exchange.” The breadth of his work reflects the breadth of his influences: Johns, Kandinsky, Diebenkorn, Sally Mann, and Bill Viola, as well as biologist E.O. Wilson and Edward Lorenz’ Chaos Theory.

After receiving his Master’s degree from Pratt Institute in New York, he exhibited while teaching in Pennsylvania and Illinois colleges. His works have been exhibited in Musée a’Art Contemporain, Chamaliere, France, The William Penn Museum in Harrisburg PA, Midwest Museum of Art, The Brauer Museum, Ft. Wayne Museum of Art, Koehnline Museum, Hyde Park Art Center, and Evanston (IL) Art Center.

His artwork has been written about in the Koehnline Museum of Art’s Artwalk at Oakton, 2001 International Digital Art Awards, L’Association Musee D’Art Contemporain’ Une Brève et Ample Énonciation, Chicago Tribune, and New Art Examiner.

The trajectory of his work has moved from an open doorway to borders beyond normal perception to tenuous yet imperative connections. His trajectory still moves on.

"Energies, often unnoted, flow in our world. The northern lights glow because of forces we cannot see. Likewise, grass prairies in the Midwest were once under an ocean, and, before that, were mountains. Hidden forces flow through human consciousness, too. Enigmatic currents bring people together or separate them, accord meaning to life or bring desperation.

I work in acrylics and computer prints, in a style that reveals contemporary yet timeless figures, images of nature, quantum representations, and the abstract. My artworks reflects diverse influences, such as the artists Kandinsky, Cornell, Diebenkorn, Sally Mann, and Bill Viola, as well as biologist E.O. Wilson, physicist Werner Heisenberg, and Chaos Theory.

The energies, objects, spaces, and dissonances in my works are full of unnamable emotion, order, and enigma."

The Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso University
The Embassy of France, Washington, D.C.
The Ft. Wayne Museum of Art, Ft. Wayne, IN
IN FOCUS Systems
Lubeznik Art Center
Koehnline Museum
Association Mouvement d'Art Contemporain, Chamalières, France
NiSource
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Telecomgroup, Palatine
Unity Foundation of LaPorte County, IN
World Print Council

Numerous Personal Collections

Merit Award, ArtComp 2004, Chesterton Art Center, 2004
Indiana Art Commission IAP Grant, 2003-2004
Honors Award, ArtComp 2000, Chesterton Art Center, 2000
Award of Merit, 55th Annual Salon, Northern Indiana Arts Center, 1998
Prix de le Ville de Vichy, Chamalières Triennial International, Chamalières, France, 1997
Who’s Who In America
Oakton Educational Foundation Grant, 1989.
The League for the Humanities / Ford Foundation HUMANITIES STUDY GROUP GRANT, 1988-1989.
Paragon Award, National Council for Community Relations, second place in Best Video Promotion, 1985.
Award of Merit, International All on Paper Exhibition, A.A.O.W.N.Y., Buffalo, N.Y., 1979.
"Maxi Award," Media and Methods for Exploring the Film as the best book on media, 1973.
Gold Award (Best of Category: Graphic Design), Art Center Show, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio, 1969.
Fellowship, Pratt Institute, 1968-1969.

________________other experiences

Panelist, Indiana Artisan Applications, 2009
Panelist, Indiana Arts Commission Individual Art Proposal Grant Review, 2007–2009
Collection Committee, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN, 2005-2007
Juror, Masterpiece in a Day, Indianapolis, IN 2005
Juror, National Exhibit 2005, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Panelist, Indiana Arts Commission Grant Review, 2005
Instructor, “Exploring Monet Today,” Painting Workshop, Provence at Purdue North Central, 2004
Presenter, “Setting Up an Artist’s Web Site,” Chesterton Art Center, Chesterton, IN, 2004
Panelist, Indiana Arts Commission Grant Review, 2004
Juror, Brauer Museum Showcase, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, 2003
Co-founder, Southern Shore Art Association, Michigan City, IN, 2002
Juror, Deer Path Art League Fall Show, Lake Forest, IL, 2002
Juror, “Vicinity 2002,” John G. Blank Art Center, Michigan City, IN, 2002
Board Member, Brickton Arts Center, Park Ridge, IL, 1999-2001
IEA Art Selection Committee, 1998
Presenter, “Postmodernism Decays: New Attractors Awaken,” Mid-America College Art Conference, Richmond, VA, 1997
Field Reader, ArtReach ‘96 Grants, Des Plaines Arts Council, Des Plaines IL.
Member, Illinois Higher Education Art Association, 1975-2002.
Member, Art Gallery Committee, Oakton College, 1971-2002.
Juror, National Art Awards, Center on Deafness, Des Plaines, IL., 1988.
Board Member, Des Plaines Prairie Project. 1987
Writer and Associate Producer of "The Art Program at Oakton, A Special Blending." a twenty minute VIDEO. 1987
Moderator, Student Art Club, Oakton, 1985-87.
Co-chair, North Central Association Accreditation Task Force on Governance, Oakton, 1986-87.
Presenter, Oakton Affiliates, "Computers in the Art Curriculum," 1986.
Juror, Center on Deafness National Art Awards, 1986.
Presenter, "Computer Art Demonstration," ARTTRAIN, a federally funded train which uses local talent to present various aspects of art to the community. 1986.
Presented "The Artist as Antenna," Northbrook Court, Northbrook, IL., 1985.
Board Member, Illinois Higher Education Art Association, 1983-85.
Chairman and Director, Conference on Computer Art, Illinois Higher Education Art Association, Oakton, 1984.
Juror, Center on Deafness National Art Awards, 1984.
Leader, staff development module: "Computer Graphics," Oakton, 1984.
Planning Workshop: "Arts, Higher Education, and the Community," Park Ridge, IL., 1983.
Introduced computer-generated art into Design courses, Oakton, 1983.
Juror, Maine Township Special Students Christmas Card competition, 1982.
Member, Illinois Percent for Art Review Committee, works for Des Plaines Campus, Oakton College. 1982
Brochure designed and written, describing the Oakton Art Department, 1981.
Participant, "Problems in Contemporary Art," New York, University of Eastern Illinois, NY, Aug 4-11, 1980.
Gallery operations, NAB Gallery, Chicago, 1980.
Juror, Artists Guild of Chicago Annual Print and Drawing Show, 1979.
Illustrated "Scotty Strong" booklet placed in emergency rooms to alleviate children's fears of x-ray procedures. 1978.
Designed art studios, new campus, Oakton College, 1977.
Member, Illinois Community College Articulation Advisory Committee on Art, 1976-1977.
Participant, University of Chicago Institute: "The Humanist and the Artist." 1973.
Founding coordinator, Oakton College Art Department. (Designed Art Studios; set up Art Curriculum.) 1971.
Associate Director (Visuals and Design), Institute for Environmental Response (an organization exploring contemporary media/environment). New York, N.Y. 1968-1969.
Juror, Cincinnati Art Institute Scholarship Awards, 1967.
"Summershop" Director, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio. 1966

M.A., Pratt Institute. Fellowship. Brooklyn, N.Y., l969.
B.A., University of Dayton cum laude. Dayton, Ohio, 1964.

________________publications:

Planet Earth Planet Art, Edited by Bruce Rimell, Mirca Art Group, 2009
Neoteric Art, Interview, http://neotericart.com/2009/10/23/interview-with-robert-stanley/, 10/23/2009
Artwalk at Oakton, Koehnline Museum of Art, DesPlaines, IL, 2005
Exhibition Catalog, It’s a Little Late to be Early, Uncle Freddy’s Gallery, Hammond, IN, 2004, Gregg Hertzlieb, Curator Brauer Museum, Valparaiso University.
Exhibition Catalog, Bracketed, Koehnline Museum of Art, Des Plaines, IL, 2002, Nathan Harpaz 2001
"International Digital Art Awards", Robin Nicols, Digital Photography & Design, Autumn 2001 "Une Brève et Ample Énonciation - Les Artistes Américains", Catalog of the Troisieme Mondiale d’Estampes, L’Association Musee D’Art Contemporain, Chamalières, France, 1994. Alan Artner,, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 6, 1994
“Computers, Just Another Medium” New Art Examiner, Nov. 1984

________________writings
Column writer, “On Second Thought,” Chicago Artists’ News, 1999-present
"Quiet Foxes: Foxy but not Quite Enough," YLEM, Artists Using Science and Technology, Jan/Feb 1997.
“Steps, Roads, Funnels, Galaxies: Metaphors for Designing Interactive Presentations,” Technological Horizons in Educational Journal, December, 1994.
INTERFACE (a newsletter of media influences on culture), Editor, Herder and Herder, New York, NY, 1968-1969.
Exploring the Film, Kuhns, Wm. and Stanley, Robert. Standard Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1968