Robin Tewes

Robin Tewes
Artist Robin Tewes in 2018.
Artist Robin Tewes in 2018.
Born1950
Queens, New York, US
EducationHunter College
Known forPainting
StyleNarrative, Representational

Robin Tewes (born 1950) is a Queens-born, New York City-based artist, known since the early 1980s for her representational paintings of frozen, narrative-like moments.[1][2] She has shown her work in numerous solo exhibitions in New York City, as well as nationally and internationally, and exhibited at venues including P.S. 1, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, The Drawing Center, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing), among many. Her work has been widely discussed in publications including Artforum, Art in America, ARTnews, Tema Celeste,[3] the New York Times,[4] the Los Angeles Times,[5] and the Village Voice. Tewes was a founding member of the P.S. 122 Painting Association. She has been recognized with a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Fellowship (2015) and Painting Award (2008),[6] an Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award (2007), and inclusion in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in 2016.[7]

Tewes paints everyday people and domestic interiors in a precise, almost deadpan style that Artforum critic Ronny Cohen called "searingly direct" in its presentation of information and emotional impact.[8] She often incorporates subtle, graffiti-like text into her paintings, suggesting pointed or disquieting thoughts, conversations or social commentary on the scene being portrayed.[9][10][11] ARTnews Barbara Pollack described Tewes's work as maintaining "an edgy balance between surrealism and soap opera."[9] In addition to her art practice, Tewes has worked as an educator, lecturer, curator and activist.

  1. ^ Cook, Scott. "Art for the Eighties," New York City: Grace Borgenicht Gallery, 1980.
  2. ^ Heil, Janet and Becky Saunders. Portraits on a Human Scale, catalogue, New York: The Whitney Museum of Art, 1983.
  3. ^ Damianovic, Maria. "Il Fantastico In Arte," Tema Celeste, #55, 1995.
  4. ^ Johnson, Ken. "Robin Tewes," The New York Times, April 30, 1999.
  5. ^ Wilson, William. "Wry and Witty Observations," Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1996.
  6. ^ The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Robin Tewes. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  7. ^ Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Robin Tewes papers, 1950–2016. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  8. ^ Cohen, Ronny. "Robin Tewes," Artforum, September, 1983, p. 73.
  9. ^ a b Pollock, Barbara. "Robin Tewes," ARTnews, Summer, 1999.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kolva96 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Princenthal97 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).