New works by Robert Masla
December 1-December 31, 2017.
Artist reception: Friday December 8, 2017, 6-8pm
In conjunction with Northampton’s Arts Night Out
Around the Corner: Paintings inspired by Ashfield, the Pioneer Valley, New England and Upstate New York
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Last Days of Summer
5×7 in
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Late Afternoon
5×7 in
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3 to 1 (Ausable Chasm)
14×11 in
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Crystal Falls
16×20 in
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High Falls
16×8 in
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Awesome (with Brahm at Kaaterskill Falls)
60×48 in
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Farm on 112
8×10 in
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Storm Passing
8×16 in
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Early Summer (Farm on Rt 112)
11×14 in
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Clouds Passing Over the Summit
18×24 in
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Kindred Spirits
20×16 in
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Painting the Sunset From Olana
20×40 in
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Opposing Forces at St Regis Falls
16×20 in
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The Flume
16×20 in
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You’ve Got One Hour to Paint
12×9 in
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Bathing at the Falls
16×12 in
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Painting at Chapel Falls
7×5 in
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Playhouse
11×14 in
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La Luna
8×10 in
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Here Comes The Moon
13.5×10.5 in
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Nocturne Harmony-Contrast of Extension, Blue, Violet, and Yellow with Green
14×11 in
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Afternoon at VINS
14×11 in
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A Wolf in the Studio
9×12 in
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A Fading Light (Don’t Believe, It’s Fake News)
22×15 in
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At the Pond
30×20 in
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A Light Breeze
8×10 in
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Here Comes the Sun
10×8 in
Fruit Trees and Florals
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Spring has Sprung, Summers Began
12×9 in
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First Blossoms of Spring
12×9 in
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Spring Blossoms
9×12 in
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Fall’s First Dance of Light in 3 Movements
10×8 in
And Beyond…Inspired from Mexico and the Western U.S.
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Hot Day: Around the Corner
24×15 in
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Inside Looking Out
12×9 in
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Salt in the Air
8×16 in
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Late Morning Coffee (San Pancho)
12×9 in
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Sedona Light
16×8 in
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Sunbathing in Sedona
14×11 in
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The Paths
30×20 in
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After the Storm (It’s Going to be a Beautiful Day)
36×54 in
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Spirit of the Tetons
12×24 in
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Natural Wonders (at Yellowstone Falls)
36×24 in
See more of Masla’s work here.
Robert Masla – Artist’s Statement
In the span of the last 20+ years, Robert Masla’s painting has shifted to focus primarily on the landscape. Working to uncover the universal language contained within the natural world, Masla portrays what he terms “Spiritrealism.” He coined the term in the 1970’s to describe how the spiritual can manifest itself in the so-called “mundane” realities of everyday life. His definition of Spiritrealism has evolved conjointly with his art over the years, from concrete & clearly defined to the more ambiguous and universal.
I know much less than I thought I did. What I’ve come to understand as Spiritrealsim is the process of experiencing my place in the universe as a part of creation and that I as an artist and a human being have the opportunity to participate in the creation. We’re given the opportunity to participate in creation every day of our lives. To experience connection with life, with nature, our very Selves, all the awesome power, the horror, the beauty, and the sublime. For me, creating art is a form of worship, a form of spirituality born through creative living.
For Masla, Spiritrealism is a way of life. The artist achieves his goals in painting through the suggestion of other worldly experiences, so the transcendental can manifest right before us. By painting the common daily setting filled with an energy, an aura and light of mystical divinity and the connection to Beauty that he experiences in nature, the work communicates that energy to the viewer. Painting the landscape around him brings Masla joy because it allows him to “take things that we might pass by every day and bring them into focus – to see them again as if for the first time.”
With an exhibition history extending over 40 years, Robert Masla is an award winning artist whose work is in many discerning collections. His work has appeared in various books and publications such as: The Artist and the American Landscape, Changing Prospects, The Artists Magazine, Art New England, PleinAir Today & Outdoor Painter. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections throughout the United States and in Mexico and has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions in both countries. R. Michelson Galleries has represented Mr. Masla since 1988.
During the course of his professional career Masla has also remained dedicated to art as an educator, having lectured and taught painting, drawing and art history at several colleges and institutions. He continues to conduct workshops from his Studios North at his home in rural Ashfield, Massachusetts, and various venues in the U.S. – “I see my teaching as another way of giving back some of the gifts I’ve been blessed with, to share my enthusiasm and joy for painting and the creative process”. Expanding on his desire to touch peoples lives through art and creative expression, in 2005 Masla and his wife Monica Levine founded Casa de los Artistas, Inc. Establishing ArtWorkshopVacations.com they built a home and his Studios South in the charming fishing village of Boca de Tomatlan, 10 miles South of Puerto Vallarta, located on the gorgeous Pacific Coast of Mexico. It is here at the idyllic setting of “The Casa”, Masla, along with numerous other invited prominent artist/instructor colleagues, teach workshops during the winter months.