Artist Statement My work starts with unanswered questions. I want my paintings to give the impression of looking out into the distance but looking further than what’s in front of you. I have spent more than a decade working to find innovative ways to combine color and texture to capture a sense of endlessness and the eternal. My aim is always to express a feeling more than a physical object. I have painted all my life, my first inspiration coming from the landscape of coastal Alabama, which continues to inform my work. I work quickly, mostly with acrylics, layering paint on the canvas to create a sense of depth, intensity and expansiveness. I’m also currently working with using water on the canvas. My art is the one thing that allows me to express myself. But there’s still an element of mystery to it. I have finished some pieces within months and others required years of work. I have to sense a painting is ready, to look at it and just know. It’s beyond reason, but for me art is rooted in subjectivity. My art begins as an expression of my own life and my own experience but it’s not until people look at my paintings and are able to define them in their own terms that I feel like my work has accomplished its purpose. Biography Brad Robertson has painted all his life. Born and raised in the coastal town of Mobile, Alabama, his earliest inspiration was the landscape the indigenous pines and oak trees, and the waters of Mobile Bay. The coastal landscape is still a major source of inspiration for Robertson. At Auburn University Robertson spent time studying architecture and industrial design. During his time in college an art professor nurtured the foundation for what would eventually become Robertson’s career as a professional painter, encouraging his unique ability to work with color and texture to create depth, complexity and expressiveness. Robertson earned his BFA in graphic arts in 1999, leaving painting behind for a time and moving to Atlanta to work as a full-time graphic artist at a production company. After a few years he decided the structure and monotony of big-city life was not for him, and began to think of his roots in Alabama. Robertson moved back to Alabama in 2002, lured back to the more relaxed coastal way of life. Since then Robertson has become an award-winning artist with collectors throughout the United States. Still based in Mobile, he is active in the local art community and says he cannot imagine doing anything else for a living. He considers good music an integral part of the artistic process and tries his hand at fishing in his spare time, though he admits he should probably stick to painting. Education BFA, Auburn University 1999 Awards Selected one of 50 Top Emerging Artists of 2014/2015 by Art Business News Magazine Selected one of Mobile Bay's 2013 Class of 40 Under Forty Lagniappe Nappie Award: Best Art Gallery 2013 - Robertson Gallery Alexandria Museum of Art September Competition Honorable Mention, Alexandria, LA, 2012 (National Competition) Lagniappe Nappie Award: Best Art Gallery 2012 - Robertson Gallery Energen Corporation Grand Prize Winner, Birmingham, AL, 2011 Energen Corporation Non-Representational Winner, Birmingham, AL, 2010 Arts Council Design Selection, Mobile, AL, 2009 Energen Corporation Non-Representational Winner, Birmingham, AL, 2006 Space 301 People’s Choice and Mobile Press-Register Art Show Winner, 2005 Press Cover Art for Roy Hoffman's 2014 novel "Come Landfall" Tone and Texture: Abstracts inspired by his coastal homeland have elevated the career of painter Brad Robertson to a new level. Mobile Bay Magazine, November 2013 (A. Hoff) Architectural Digest (Print), August 2013: Favorite Finds The Cottage Journal, 2013 Summer Edition: A Stay by the Bay ABC TV Series Nashville, 2013 Season Mobile Bay Monthly, February 2013 Edition: Downtown Sizing ABC TV Series Nashville, 2012 Season HGTV show Interiors, Inc., January 28th, 2012 AAA Alabama Journey Magazine May/June 2012 Cover: Painting the Town Signature Beauty: Brad Robertson's Evocative, Award-Winning Art. Zalea, 24-27. Matthews, M. R. (2011, May). Texture and DEPTH: Local Artist Brad Robertson gains notice in the world of contemporary art. Mobile Press-Register, p 1D.. Andrews, C (2007, January 22). Solo Exhibitions Upcoming: Charlotte Fine Art, Charlotte, NC April 2015 Upcoming: R Alexander Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA September, 2014 Octavia Gallery, New Orleans, LA 2012 Catherine Kelleghan Gallery, Atlanta, GA 2011 Robertson Gallery, Mobile, AL, 2010 Gallery at the Wharf, Orange Beach, AL, 2008 Koch Gallery, Mobile, AL, 2008 Orange Beach Art Center, Orange Beach, AL, 2007 Group Exhibitions Upcoming: Gallery 1930, Birmingham, AL October 2014 Upcoming: The District Gallery, Knoxville, TN October 2014 R. Alexander Fine Art, Atlanta, GA September, 2014 Roan and Black Gallery, Saugatuck, MI, July 2014 Art Comes Alive Juried Exhibition, ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati, OH, June 2014 Columbus Museum, Invitational Art Show, April, 2014 ArtExpo New York, NYC, April, 2014 Energen Juried Art Show, Birmingham, AL, March, 2014 Art Spectrum, Miami, 2013 View Gallery, Ridgeland, MS, December 2013 Gallery 1930, Birmingham, AL, October 2013 Meridian Musuem of Art, Bi-State Show, Meridian, MS, 2013 ArtExpo New York, NYC, 2013 Columbus Museum, Invitational Art Show, 2013 Energen Juried Art Show, Birmingham, AL, 2013 David Perry Smith Gallery, Memphis, TN, 2011 Bennett Gallery, Nashville, TN, 2011 Octavia Gallery, New Orleans, LA, 2010 Catherine Kelleghan Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2010 Robertson Gallery, Mobile, AL 2009 Loretta Goodwin Gallery, Birmingham, AL, 2008 Patinas, Fairhope, AL, 2008 ETC!, Mobile, AL, 2007 Gallery 54, Mobile, AL, 2007 Corporate Collections Federal Reserve Bank, Nashville, TN RSA Tower at the Battle House Hotel, Mobile, AL PM Realty Group, Atlanta, GA GA/Piedmont Road Holdings, LLC, Atlanta, GA The Hackett Group, Atlanta, GA The Southern Company, HQ, Mobile, AL Riverview Plaza Hotel, Mobile, AL Energen Corporation, Birmingham, AL Medical Properties Trust, Birmingham, AL Iberia Bank, Mobile, AL Iberia Bank, Fairhope, AL Burr & Forman, LLP, Birmingham, AL Mobile Country Club, Mobile, AL US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, AL Cunningham & Bounds, Mobile, AL The Southern Company, HQ, Birmingham AL Milling Commercial Realty, Mobile, AL Notable Private Collectors LeAnn Rimes, Country Singer/Celebrity (Featured on HGTV) Jo Bonner, AL State Congressman Darrel J. Williams Associates