Robert S. Connett Reimagines The Mysterious Nature Of Microscopic Life In His Artworks
Robert Steven Connett was born on August 19, 1951, in San Francisco, California. Drawn to art from an early age, he spent his childhood sketching and painting, and he continued to make art throughout his adult life. Yet, for more than two decades, his primary career was outside the art world.
From the age of 24 to 47, Connett worked as an insurance broker in San Francisco. However, a devastating house fire in 1995 became a turning point. After losing his home, Connett left the insurance business and, a few years later, moved to Los Angeles in 1998, where he later married. Several attempts at other kinds of work did not last, and in 2004 he committed to creating art full-time. Today, his intricate, imaginative artworks are exhibited and collected in galleries and museums around the world.
Reflecting on the inspiration behind his distinctive style, Connett explains: “I’m often asked why I make my kind of art, and where I get my ideas. The simplest answer to the first part is that I love what I do. I paint because I enjoy seeing my imagination come to life! Throughout my life, I’ve found a state of deep peaceful concentration while creating art. I can’t attain this any other way. Creating art can be like a port in a storm for me.”
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Elaborating further on his particular artistic journey, Connett remarked, “My art, especially in the beginning decades, was purgative in nature, meaning I expressed my personal feelings, both good and bad, with very little objectivity or self-censorship. My work has grown and gained some open-mindedness through self-examination and the maturing of years. However, it is still a sanctuary that I shape from my imagination.
“It’s still how I illustrate my feelings about the world, but it’s modified by my wish to create order and beauty. I use my work as a vehicle to take me to another world, one of my own creation. I’m honoured to share that world and thrilled that others can relate to it in their own way.
“The second part of the question is much more difficult to answer. Where do I get my ideas? I’m simply trying to illustrate those ideas. I can’t explain where they come from. They are just there, evolving constantly under an infinitely complex number of influences.”
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