The Ann Tower Gallery is pleased to present Instances of Color: New Work by Robert James Foose. Please join us for a Gallery Hop Reception with the artist on Friday, April 21, from 5 - 8pm.

The exhibition will include 20 vibrant new oil paintings. Nature has been the main theme of Foose's work for many years, and he keeps his paintings lively and engaging by changing his focus and point of view, now to the garden outside his back door. His interpretations of the view at hand continue to evolve in new and surprising ways. Here, the artist has turned his attention to details of a pond, with foliage, water, and reflected sky, painted in lush color and rich texture. While Foose's images are firmly rooted in nature, he's a formalist at heart and these are his most abstract works to date. In explaining his work, Foose said, "Though common in idea, I try for the uncommon…fully aware of the historical continuum of painting itself. I feel both humbled and empowered by the endless possibility of what could come next."

One of the region's best-known artists, Foose is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Kentucky. He is the recipient of more than one hundred and fifty first-place awards for painting and printmaking throughout the country, and his work is included in many public, corporate, and private collections throughout the United States and Europe, including the J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Ky.; the New York Public Library, New York, NY; the Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts, Owensboro, Ky.; and the Merzig Stadt Sammlung, Merzig, West Germany.