Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Pokorny.
Robert, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started drawing on my desktops as a kid and was considered better than the average bear. I love cherry pie, swings and art books. As a youth, I trained with retired doctors learning the in’s and outs of table tennis in the suburbs of Modesto. I honed my mixed tape making skills as a young man, as well as applying it to my early career as a barista in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve raced my wiener (dog) in the wiener nationals and traveled to Europe with a Modern dancer that had 100 percent pure green eyes chasing Picasso exhibitions. I’ve created music posters for clubs, indie bands, musicians and record labels. Somewhere along the way, I started exhibiting my art.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’m an artist, nothing is smooth. Once you finish a project, it’s ground zero every time. It takes a lot of determination, passion and obsession. There’s the struggle with world events, personal demands and the deep desire to do better, to be better. As time has progressed, I have realized Art is a lifelong pursuit and a never ending learning process. I think as long as I stay curious and keep pushing forward, I’m winning.
Please tell us more about your art.
Drawing is the root of my art. This is where my thinking process is worked out, ideas are born and dialogues created. Painting is where my ideas come to life entering into a new dimension. My work is abstract figurative. It ranges from the use of a line to fully fleshed out paintings. My portraitures are a device through which a dialogue is opened between the artist, the viewer and the outside world. Portrait is an expression of myself, the practice of the studio, the intentional dialogue between my own vision and the great painters from the past. I use color and form to describe and initiate feeling. Each mark is packed with foresight and intention. Questions about humanity, diversity, discord and balance in society are communicated through my process of abstraction. Portraits that do not convey one person in particular but perhaps pictures of us all—the rich diversity of human dialogue, the moments of deep conflict, the pleasure of pure harmony.
I’ve been very fortunate to have my work widely exhibited. My current exhibition Modern Guilt & Blue Skies at Ampersand Gallery in Portland, Oregon opened in October 2020. It’s been a year we’ll never forget; impossible to not be affected by the Pandemic, turmoil, fears, uncertainty, anger, isolation, the privileged, the entitled, one’s moral compass, guilt, injustices, disasters, destruction, death and murders.
I’m not a political person but have found it impossible not to be affected as we are in a pivotal moment in history. The discord in America is palpable. I’ve been asking myself and others what have we done and which side do you stand on, what has this taught us and how do we proceed. I can feel the pent-up energy and emotional chaos of the moment direct me in my actions.
Never did I think we would become a collection of masks, but whatever mask you wear like it or not we are all in this together. We are witnessing selflessness and selfishness. I cannot but hope for a better day that good will prevail with harmony, balance and equality.
What I had originally conceived for Modern Guilt & Blue Skies was my love for modern art and my dialogue with great painters of the past. This concept has been ongoing for me with unfinished conversations. While in development, Covid-19 hit. Suddenly, I found myself unable to draw or paint. I was frozen, trapped in my mind of guilt. What came next was unexpected. As Los Angeles grinding to a halt, I saw “Nature” begin to heal itself. Witnessing the cleanest, clearest bluest skies I have ever seen from our windows. Eventually, I forced myself to aggressively draw releasing pent-up energy and anxiety. With a lot of thinking, staring and trying to understand the fragility of the times, I realized I was shifting with the world events and the politics of the now. Every decision feeling so consequential.
What are my priorities, what is actually needed and what is important? Rethink, rebuild (less is more). Subconsciously I was putting shapes together in my paintings where if one piece is gone everything would crumble. Daydreaming, processing and creating. Negating all that was unnecessary, finding a simplification of desires and trying to find some beauty during the desolation, isolation and ugliness. Guilty for the feeling and freedom to do so.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles County is a beast with so many pockets. It’s a place with rich history of culture, entertainment and the light. Being in a major metropolitan city always presents more opportunities. Is it necessary to be here I don’t think so but historically speaking everything is moving west…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.robertpokorny.com
- Email: robertfpokorny@gmail.com
- Instagram: @robertpokorny
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