Mixed Media Artist
Member of Flag since:
2018
Serves on Vision Committee
Robert’s Bio:
Robert Clayton Shirk was born in Tarrytown New York in 1952 and grew up in South Florida. The product of a broken marriage, Robert visited his artist father’s Manhattan studio during holidays and summer vacations.
As a junior in college he needed a break from his business studies and took an elective course in design. Falling in love again with his first passion, he finished college in 1977 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During college Robert won “Best in Show” awards in various student art shows and was selected into and received an ‘Honorable Mention’ award in the 1976 “Bicentennial American Painters In Paris” show in Paris, France. During this time, Robert’s paintings were created on both sides of clear plexiglass. He found it’s transparent flat surface perfect for depicting his hard edge surrealistic landscapes.
For the next 10 years Robert was selling in South Florida galleries, and being commissioned for his paintings. He was also working part time as a graphic designer with various advertising agencies. Putting down his paintbrush in 1987, Robert got married and took a full time job as Art Director at a Coral Springs agency. Five years later in 1992 he started a successful marketing business that he ran with his wife for 23 years. In 2015, a couple of years after moving to North East Florida, Robert sold his business and was free to go back to his roots and paint.
Since coming back to painting, Robert’s artwork has become more figurative and uses multiple sheets of layered plexiglass. Each sheet of clear plexiglass contains thousands of tiny dots that create part of the final image. The effect creates a Neo-Pointillist 3 dimensional kinetic image that moves and changes as the viewer’s perspective changes.
Artist Statement:
My contemporary portraits are conceptually very similar to the Pointillist painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Pointillist technique these painters used is based on optically mixing color, where the viewer’s eye blends the individual dots of color together to perceive a full range of tones and hues.
My neo-pointillist paintings take that Pointillist concept a step further with multiple sheets of layered clear acrylic. Each sheet contains thousands of tiny dots that create part of the final image. The effect creates a neo-pointillist 3-dimensional kinetic image that moves and changes as the viewer’s perspective changes.
While the Pointillist movement as it existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is not prevalent today, there are contemporary artists who incorporate Pointillist techniques or draw inspiration from Pointillism. Starting in the 1980’s, American artist Chuck Close is known for his intricate portraits created using a grid of small, distinct marks, which can be seen as a contemporary interpretation of Pointillism. I am building on the legacy of those masters of Pointillism.
Education:
Florida Atlantic University. B.F.A, Studio Painting, 1977.
Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibitions:
2023 – The Hub on Canal, Solo Exhibition “From Surreal Visions To Points of Color” New Smyrna, FL
2021 – Jane’s Gallery “Robert Shirk Solo Exhibit” New Smyrna, FL
Group Exhibitions:
As of 05/05/26 I have participated in over 145 group exhibitions since 2017. Venues include:
Museum of Arts & Sciences, Daytona FL
Orlando Museum of Art 1st Thursday Juried Exhibit, Orlando FL
Orlando Museum of Art Platform Juried Exhibit, Orlando FL
Foosaner Art Museum, Melbourne FL
Ringling College of Art & Design, Sarasota FL
Ormond Memorial Museum, Ormond Beach FL
The Wilson Center for the Arts, Florida State College Jacksonville, FL
Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center, Stetson University, DeLand, FL
ARGRAF “American Painters In Paris” Paris France
Gallery500, Daytona FL
Mills Gallery, Orlando FL
Arts on Douglas, New Smyrna FL
Jane’s Gallery, New Smyrna FL
Park Avenue Contemporary Gallery, Winter Park FL
JF Gallery, Palm Beach FL
Fifth Avenue Gallery, Melbourne FL
Art League Of Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach FL
Bailey Contemporary Arts Center, Pompano FL
Saint Augustine Art Association, Saint Augustine FL
CityArts, Orlando FL
SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden FL
News Journal Center Gallery, Daytona Beach FL
Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center, Ormond Beach FL
Arts On Granada, Ormond Beach FL
Starry Night Gallery, Daytona FL
Galerie Elan, Daytona FL
Dunedin Fine Arts Center, Dunedin FL
Casselberry Art Center, Casselberry FL
Downtown Orlando Library, Orlando FL
Flagler County Art League, Palm Coast FL
Downtown Orlando Arts District, Orlando FL
Broward Art Guild, Ft. Lauderdale FL
Parker Playhouse Art Gallery, Ft. Lauderdale FL
See a full exhibition and awards list here: https://www.robertshirk.com/about/awards-exhibitions.html
Institutional Collections:
Portrait of Benoit Glazer. Timucua Arts Foundation.
Orlando FL, Donated 2018.
Portrait of Petra Iston. Salvo Art Project.
Bunnell FL, Donated 2017.
Publications and Media:
“In Sync: Local artists to showcase work at MOAS”
Ormond Beach Observer. July 23, 2019.
“What Wakes Me Up.” Ormond Beach Observer.
June 6, 2019. Page 19.
“Always Experimenting.” Ormond Beach Observer.
March 1, 2018. Page 11.
“Lifestyle’s Art Contest.” Central Florida Lifestyle Magazine. September 2017, Pages 30-31.
“Seven Arts: One Tool-Two Concepts.” Florida Fiesta. January 1977. Pages 10-11, 42.
“An Artist Of Maturity, Craftsmanship.”
Ft. Lauderdale News & Sun-Sentinel. May 30, 1976. Page 11E.
Honors and Awards:
As of 05/05/26 I have received 55 awards from juried exhibitions including:
8 Best of Show Awards
3 Most Creative Awards
4 First Place Awards
7 Second Place Awards
Many awards of Distinction, Achievement, Recognition, Merit, and Honor.
See a full exhibition and awards list here: https://www.robertshirk.com/about/awards-exhibitions.html
Affiliations & Memberships:
Daytona Beach Museum Of Arts And Sciences, Joined 2019
Orlando Museum Of Art, Joined 2018
Florida Artists Group, Joined 2018
Beaux Arts, Joined 2018
Saint Augustine Art Association, Joined 2017
ArtistsRegistory.com, Joined 2017
Downtown Arts District of Orlando, Joined 2017
Art League Of Daytona Beach, Joined 2017
Flagler County Art League, Joined 2017