ABOUT:

Robert Patterson’s work explores the dark recesses of the subconscious on levels personal and societal. He draws from forgotten and discarded folklore, antiquated musics, various forms of sensory deprivation and meditation, and esoteric documents from across the globe to discover the mycorrhizal networks that unite humanity in our collective, cosmic experience. Patterson connects these nodes through various mediums including installation, experimental sound work, sculpture, photography, writing, and drawing.

Born in South Carolina in the late 1970s and raised in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains, Patterson was entranced by the isolated tracts of nature he was able to explore freely as a child. He began seriously pursuing the arts in high school at the Greenville Fine Arts Center, then attended the Atlanta College of Art where his studies were most influenced by instructors Bill Nolan, Mildred Thompson, Robert Stewart, Sarah Hornbacher, and Tom Francis and cohort William Downs III. He attained a BFA in Digital Fine Art and Graphic Design, and after graduating, he spent an influential semester in Cortona, Italy, through the University of Georgia, Athens. While in Cortona he befriended southern figurative painter Terry Rowlett and was subsequently introduced to and highly influenced by members of the musical group The Elephant 6 Collective. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Chicago with his partner, Dr. Amy Oberlin, where, under the tutelage of Jim Falconer, he began to explore experimental forms of drawing. This resulted in multiple gallery shows both in Chicago and in Brooklyn. He now resides in Berkshire County, New England, where he spends as much time as possible in the forests of the northern Appalachian Mountains with his partner and their dog, Freyja, when not creating art and working as an independent graphic designer.

Patterson has shown in galleries and group shows in Atlanta, GA; Asheville, NC; Nashville, TN; Chicago, IL; Brooklyn, NY; Cortona, IT; and North Adams, MA.

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