Robert Schlegel

The interaction of shape, contrast and line inspired Robert Schlegel (1947-2021) to transform forms into images in paintings, collage and prints. Of particular interest to the artist were structures that were juxtaposed into landscape. He strived to create images that possess tension between the representational and the abstract. Schlegel painted in the studio and plein air from preliminary sketches in charcoal, pencil and oil pastel and took reference photographs as necessary. His finished paintings are in oils and acrylics on gesso prepared paper, panel and canvas. In addition, he created monotypes and images from cut paper and collage. Drawing is the foundation for his work. Through line, contrast, texture, color and composition he explored his responses to form and shape where objects in the natural world and objects that are man made collide. Mixed media assemblages had provided an additional focus of work that is related to structure, shape and texture. These works tend to be representational and reflect the environment in which the artist lived.

A graduate of Willamette University and Portland State University, Robert Schlegel's lifetime commitment to drawing, painting and sculpture has led to numerous solo and group exhibits in California, Montana, Oregon and Washington. His work has been included in the Artists of Oregon juried group show at the Portland Art Museum; the John Natsalous Gallery in Davis California; Steven F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas; KDR-Prographica in Seattle; Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Los Angeles; and the Governor’s Office in Salem, Oregon.

Schlegel was a member of the artists collaborative "13 Hats" with exhibits in Portland and Seattle from 2012-2013. Following a 2015 exhibit of multimedia assemblages at Western Oregon University the catalog, "As.sem'.bla.ges" was produced by Train Bell Press with a forward by Roger Hull, Senior Faculty Curator, Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.

In 2016, an edition of archival ink jet prints, "or fact a formal treatment" was created in collaboration with his son, the poet, Rob Schlegel. Editions of this work are included in permanent collections in Whitman College's Special Collections; Stanford University's Green Library; University of Delaware, Special Collections; Brown University's John Hay Library and Yale's Beinecke Library.

Schlegel was featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting's Art Beat in the fall of 2016. From 2001-2021 he worked in a studio shared with his brother, the artist Bill Schlegel, in the foothills of the coast range west of Portland. Harris Harvey Gallery has shown Robert Schlegel’s work since 2019.