The Rebecca Ibel Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition of new paintings and watercolors by Robert Harms. Based in Southampton, Harms work speaks of the landscape outside his studio. Nestled in the woods on ‘Little Fresh Pond’, Harms draws inspiration from the changing seasons through the surrounding water, trees and air. The resulting paintings also reflect the changing style of the artist. In these new works, the artist paints sparingly, with a thinner gestural style that allows the brushstrokes and color to play more freely within the confines of the white canvas.

‘Rustic Lyricism’ aptly described Harms’ paintings (as coined by critic Robert Long) and applies as well to his newer, lighter, and airier works. His paintings have been compared to other artists who worked on Long Island, including “Fairfield Porter and Willem de Kooning.  All of them painted on the East End and devoted themselves to exploring ‘the continuum between nature and art,’ as Henry Geldzahler, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, once called it in an exhibition catalog essay.  On that continuum, Mr. Harms sits pretty close to de Kooning, whose example is everywhere apparent,” said Benjamin Genocchio in the New York Times.

Originally from New York, Harms received his B.A. from the School of Visual Arts in NYC. His work has been widely exhibited in the U.S. and is in numerous public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Parrish Museum, Southampton, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. He has been the recipient of several awards and grants including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. He has been represented by the gallery since 1995.