| Contact Robert P. Eustace 53 Blenheim Road Englishtown, NJ 07726 (848) 459-8143 e-mail: robert@sainteustacefineart.com |
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Robert P. Eustace
Artists Biographical Statement The artist, Robert P. Eustace was born, April 1957 in the Inwood section of New York City. He cites his early introduction to art to his interaction with the Expressionist painter Peter Dean (1934 -1993), his wife, Lorianne and his son, Gregory. Much of Dean's work can best be described as panoramic fantasy scenes from the bizarre carnival pageant of life. Compare Ensor's painting, "The Entry of Christ into Brussels" with Dean's paintings of "The Pope-Mobile in Greenwich Village". He worked almost exclusively with oil paint - bold rich colors in volcanic hue, mixed and intensely worked into thick, energetic impasto swirls. This is especially evident in his deeply felt and surreal portrayals of the natural landscape (see the Wianno Landscapes and Flowers series). Other series of work include: "Horses and Their Riders"; paintings of groups of "Picasso-like" masked figures engaged in bacchanalian revelry. He also worked with political topics such as the War in Vietnam and the destruction of the Native American culture. This work could be compared to that of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Nolde and the early German Expressionists. In the late 1960's, Dean joined several other artists to form the figurative arts group, RHINO HORN. In the original signed manifesto it states,…”our art is involved with life…with humanity, with emotion… We are not concerned with making pure color or pure form the subject of painting; we are concerned with and express a harsher reality”. Thus, the current trend toward a dry formalism was rejected and the idea of “a real content” in works of art upheld. Original members included the painter Robert De Niro (the father of the famous actor), Stuart Diamond, Mary Frank, along with guest exhibitors such as Red Grooms, June Leaf and an affiliation with George Segal with his Hoffmann influenced early figurative painting style. In terms of a personal art world strategy, Dean would always say that he would rather be a "small fish, swimming in a large ocean", than the other way around. He rejected notions of a standardized religion and would say, …”I worship an ancient and primitive god” and that “the artist should not be afraid to form his own religion” (or vision-my parenthesis). In 1938, as a young Jewish boy, Dean and his family fled Berlin - just narrowly escaping the Nazi agents who were on watch nearby, by safely boarding a train. Eventually, their travels brought them to their new home in New York City (the painting: “The Expulsion”, 1988, graphically speaks of the horror of this story). Throughout the body of Dean's paintings there is this underlying, recurring theme centered on the precarious nature of life and of narrow real life escapes. Yet, there is expressed the qualities of an angelic protection and a type of divine insulation and grace from looming disaster. Throughout his career his work continued to go largely against the then current grain of: Pop - Op - Minimalism - Conceptualism. Dean simply "stuck to his guns" and kept working - knowing full well that the merry-go-round of stylistic fashion and change, eventually comes back full circle. For Dean, this proved to be the early-mid 1980's with the advent of the Neo-Expressionists. The qualities found in the work of Robert Eustace can be attributed initially to the time spent in traditional Catholic church. There he found wonderful architectural symmetry, symbols and rituals of meaning, shadows and fragrances of mystery, along with the slow turning of the seasons and the festive celebrations of light. Eustace also spent much time in all weathers, roaming and playing in the interconnected parks (or former primeval wilderness) that hug the north-western rim of Manhattan Island. Looking out from the edge of the forest and down towards the broad, shimmering Hudson River, one's mind can drift and visualize all sorts of played out scenarios of a time long ago: (Of majestic wooden clipper ships exploring the untouched, pristine coast around Manhattan - always a sacred place to the Native Americans, who would soon be displaced). The nearby Park was the prime location for escape and recreation. Whole days were filled with bicycle riding, ballgames, building forts out of dug up soil and found materials, occasional archery sessions and exhilarating times spent sleigh riding down a steep and winding concrete path - slick with compacted snow and ice, lasting seemingly for weeks on end. Also, of importance were the frequent visits to the nearby Cloisters-- within walking distance from his home. The Cloisters comprised a complete Medieval monastic setting. It was constructed from various architectural fragments that were shipped here from all across Europe and then reassembled into a cohesive whole. There, Eustace found the square outdoor garden configurations of Medieval herbs, flowers and trees--with a central fountain of tranquil running water. All of which was surrounded by shaded veranda walkways. He found mystical paintings in highly ornate sculptured settings, doorways, ancient chapels with altars, distant piped in monastic chants and drones. The times and early memories of childhood were flavored by an ever heightening sense of poetic reverie and adventure. Later, Eustace with his family moved to central New Jersey. While lacking in the same day to day audio visual stimulation of his early experience in NYC, life in New Jersey eventually provided the meditative quietude and focus to begin to distill those initial life experiences into works of art. For example: the creation of abstract coded maps that serve to navigate unknown territories of the soul, ancient church floor plan configurations, ornate windows that act as a portal to mystery and grace, and the park as a model of paradise or Garden of Eden. Key to his development as a young artist: While attending a local congregation during his college days, a sensitive grad student reached out and gave him a well worn copy of H.R. Rookmaaker's book, “Modern Art and Death of a Culture”, (pub. 1970). Eustace, was later to obtain a copy of Rookmaaker's book, “Art Needs No Justification”, (pub. 1978). The overall message provided much liberation: That “Art is a God given possibility” - Art is not bound by notions of, functionalism, pragmaticism and propaganda, (or ideas of: how can we use it? And: is it practical?). Because of the Incarnation (or the Christ as man dwelling among us) and the Resurrection (or the Christ raised up to set us free from sin and death) the artist of faith is free to create within the large framework of prayer, study, thinking, working - as it relates to life's unfolding. Lastly, the idea of beauty is something that should be honored, upheld and restored to the dignity of its rightful place as it relates to art and the sacred. During much of the modern epoch in art and throughout culture, beauty has been met with mistrust, ugliness and irrationality. At least for the foreseeable future, Eustace will continue to craft his art and present it to the public from a largely "decentralized position". In other words, thanks to the dawning of the Internet / Networking Age--it is not terribly crucial as it was in times past to be living right in the cultural thick of things or for example, in NYC, or other highly urban areas. Today, one can work "outside the box" and opportunity presents itself everywhere. Special thanks must be given to the vital presence of the arts group concept, beginning with the trailblazing NYAG (New York Arts Group-1980's and now defunct), IAM (International Arts Ministry), and CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts). For the artist of faith--what was once a desolate cultural and spiritual ground has now blossomed through the cultivation and the prayers of many into an oasis of only previously unimagined artistic richness and possibility. Robert Eustace attended Montclair State College (BA-Fine Arts) and the School of Visual Arts, NYC (MFA-Painting / Mixed Media). Currently, he is working on his ongoing "Aenigmate" series of wall pieces or mixed media Altarpiece Constructions. As each new work unfolds and finds its place and personality in the whole, some basic themes of the series are: The Mother and Child - Life of Mary / Works centered around the Passion of Christ / Works dealing with the collapse and destruction of this present world and the Lord's ultimate construction of another (in like manner, I am under construction and am being transformed daily). Lastly, some artworks are concerned with more primitive intuitive abstractions and center around studies in alchemy and mysticism. Eustace is also deeply engaged with music - everything from forms of ancient chant to European avant-jazz to current left field ambient techno and electronica (the influence of which has had a nurturing and sustaining effect on this work). “I am primarily interested in space. In the ever-changing realm of artistic creation, I am forever searching for a zone, an open space, a place of calm to call my own, an area open to imagination and revelation. Standing here at the end of time on the springboard of eternity; staring in the face of civilization - the sheer weight of all that has already been said and done; the party long over and only crumbs remaining on the table,…I seek to capture the fragile sparkling of the last interstices as I reach in faith out to the void, create and pull something of substance back into the here and now”. |