Robert Felker: Patron Saints of Rock
March 4-26, 2022
Robert Felker: Patron Saints of Rock
Opening reception: Friday, March 4, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM and Friday, March 25, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM.
This exhibition comprises a series of mixed-media collages portraying icons of the music world. These epic figures have been canonized into a church of my own making – a “Communion of Saints” – based on their worship status in the public eye as well as my own. Like a faithful friend, music has accompanied me in my countless hours as a visual artist. It has given me inspiration and connection to something untouchable, yet deeply felt. It continues to take me away and lead me back home. Patron Saints of Rock is a church that spans many genres and is my attempt to share with others my admiration for the creators of that music which has stirred my soul. It is my attempt to evoke in static, two dimensions, what is inherently linear, dynamic and fleeting – what is fundamentally fixed to a time signature. It is also my hope to honor the legacy of these artists’ contributions. Artists that have moved mountains.
Robert Felker was born in Knoxville and grew up in Nashville. He has a BFA in Media Arts from the School of Visual Arts, NYC where he studied painting and illustration. After several years as a freelance illustrator, he worked in graphic design for more than 25 years while continuing to paint and make collages. His Patron Saints of Rock series started as a labor of love and has evolved into a promising project with some commercial success. He also paints landscapes en plein air and in studio as well as public art, having painted the Cormac McCarthy Firefly Mural on Clinch Avenue, the Bijou Theatre’s 111th Anniversary Commemorative Mural and “East Tennessee Sunrise,” a mural collaboration with R.B. Morris, inspired by the poetry of President Jimmy Carter and located at the Knoxville Habitat for Humanity headquarters.