The Gulf Coast Museum of Art is committed to collecting contemporary Florida art, dating from 1960 forward and American fine craft from the Southeastern United States. Six permanent collection galleries open year-round explore various ideas presented by contemporary Florida artists. An artist’s evolving approach to landscape, the use of the human figure, personal and or/societal issues as increasingly evident in the post-modern tendency, and the use of visual metaphors to communicate ideas and to stimulate dialogue imbued with layers of interpretation are examples of art making concepts currently on view. In addition, the permanent collection exhibitions document the talent of craft artisans at work.

Robert Bruce Epstein, Islands in the Dream, 2005, acrylic on masonite, 48 x 66 inches 

The Gulf Coast Museum of Art announces a new painting on extended loan from Florida artist, Robert Epstein. Epstein’s Islands in the Dream, acrylic on masonite, is currently on view in the Permanent Collection galleries.

Robert Epstein is a sculptor and painter residing in Redington Beach, FL. Known for his large-scale outdoor sculptures and public works, such as his recent commission by Isla del Sol, Aquaterra, honored in a proclamation by the City of St. Petersburg, Epstein has received national acclaim for his work. Much as his public works, Epstein’s large expressionistic paintings explore the synthesis of visual languages and relationships between natural and man-made forms. Water, sky, earth, human and architectural forms are at the foundation of his creations.

With a degree from George Washington University, Epstein has also had formal training in Paris, the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. Having studied at the American Institute of Film, he also had a diverse and creative career in the Hollywood film industry and the world of advertising and theater in New York.

Inspired by his move from northern California to St. Petersburg, FL in 2003, Robert created a series of large paintings entitled TROPIKON, which represent the topography of FL in arial views of his travels combined with tropical icons of his new home. Islands in the Dream is a combination of imagery from looking out the airplane window on to the vast Gulf and islands while flying into St. Petersburg. In his process of sculptural layers of gesso and acrylic paint, he creates an energetic and luminous atmosphere. From quiet coves to possible tornadoes, the viewer experiences the forces of nature coming together.