Robert Oliver

Robert Oliver is a portrait and figure painter who has spent his entire life as a Rhode Island resident. He studied painting at Rhode Island College where he received his BA and later continued his studies at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design earning his MFA. He presently resides in the city of Pawtucket.

His current work explores the state of being alone, alone as a condition, place of refuge or comfort and perhaps isolation. That place may be a physical domain or may exist within the self. The images recall people places and circumstances from his own experience. The very commonplace, everyday essence of this experience, as portrayed in his work, seeks to resonate with the viewer. The need to seek refuge or to be alone are essential human necessities.

It was self- portraiture and long hours viewing himself in a mirror isolated in the studio, daily trips on the commuter rail and time spent tucked away reading and the desire to escape the ever-present demands and pressures of the outside world which led him to consider the theme of being alone as the focus of his work.

His experience in portraiture is incorporated into a narrative, a narrative veiled in a degree of ambiguity. This is supported by a light that in addition to its formal functions contributes to the narrative of the painting whether quietly slipping through an open window or providing the inescapable glare of a subway car.