Robert Henry Paintings

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NY & LA -- As April Kingsley said in The Village Voice, "Henry-watching is always a fascinating activity." And Henry himself has said, while acknowledging that he knows a consistent, signature style is good for the business of art, "I hate to repeat myself." Thus, every season brings a new Henry adventure. Henry's continuity is not of form or format, "but of the feelings generated by the rotating paintings, the will to imbalance, the 'hypnogeic' state, the feeling of a shifting world, the loss of firm footing, as well as the joy of change itself." Within each series, details alter slightly from scene to scene, suggesting a linked narrative, time passing. He moves from one medium to another, one idea to another. Previous allegorical series have explored privacy and public place, belonging, the relationship between artist and audience, the contradictions and confusions of modern, urban life, feeling in response to that experience. Several of the new paintings are a variation on games, especially playing with danger, as metaphor for life experience. In last year's wonderful "Snap the Whip...