Sunday, August 18, 2019

An Abundant Life - Seeing Is Believing

Robert Streicher has a history of excellence. Earlier in his career he was a dancer and choreographer, he has been an actor and a playwright and producer and an entrepreneur. But of all of the gifts and talents that he has, I believe that the greatest one is his work as a visual artist. I don't say this lightly, because he does everything that he does with passion and attention to detail, with a sense of the permanence of the often thought of as ephemeral arts. Although the work that performers do on stage is fleeting and passing and never can be replicated exactly, with Robert there is a precision and focus that makes it so that each performance is memorable. With his intensely critical eye, he knows what he knows, and sees beyond the present moment to what is hidden behind the facade, in the distance or near to the surface. But there is something that happens when he begins to paint that opens up new vistas and possibilities, and it is in that space of creativity that I believe his art truly and most powerfully comes alive.

I met Robert when he was giving an Artist talk at Novado Gallery in Jersey City, and later went to visit him in his studio. We share a history of knowing some of the great people who have populated the New York City Art, Dance and Theater worlds over the years, and when I am visiting with him I am reminded of some of the most memorable days and times I experienced in what I believe is the greatest city in the world. And it is not just Art, Dance and Theater that span his consciousness and fall into the conversation like a heathly rain, he is an avid movie watcher and reader and is knowledgeable about the history of culture and art in many forms. A conversation with Robert is one that is eye opening and inspiring, and one that brings back memories of people and places and brings them into a new light.

As an Artist, his work spans so many different categories that there is no way to really place him except to say that he is always exploring form and line and color. There is an intense quality to his pieces that is at the same time full of light and life, though some of them are darker in tone and color palette. I could spend hours talking with him and looking at his work, and I have on occasion had the opportunity to do that. It's a rare experience to find someone who knows so much and is so discerning, to find a creative spirit with strong opinions and vision who is always trying something new. It's refreshing to meet someone like Robert Streicher, whose vision helps us see in a new way, and whose beliefs and experience are so powerful that we begin to understand a new story.

A Glimpse Into The World
Of The Art Of Robert Streicher
In His Studio
Jersey City, New Jersey












Blessings,

Jannie Susan

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