ExhibitsUSA Exhibitions Press Release

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Robert Sudlow has long been considered one of the most important painters to emerge from the Midwest. With an enthusiastic following of collectors, artists, former students, and native Kansans, Sudlow is acknowledged as the preeminent landscape painter of Kansas. Despite this fact, little is known about his method, iconology, and intent. There are many misconceptions about his work, the most important being that his landscapes are simply a description of nature observed. Sudlow’s paintings are richer and more complex than such superficial interpretations might suggest. Instead, what Sudlow captures is the essence of the landscape, that which requires both the mind and the eye to understand. He represents not only the land and sky, but also eastern Kansas light, atmospheric effects, and the transient moment. Most importantly, he transforms these elements into an evocative experience, an experience that is remembered and present within the same moment.

Spiritual Journeys: The Art of Robert Sudlow, [opening date] at [your institution], is a retrospective of the career of this important Kansas painter. The works represented in this exhibition come from the artist’s personal collection as well as pieces from the community of Sudlow collectors. Robert Sudlow is a native Kansan, born in Holton in 1920. Sudlow received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas, where he worked with Albert Bloch, a member of Der Blaue Reiter, a group of German Expressionists in Munich, Germany. In 1946 Sudlow returned to Lawrence as a faculty member at the University of Kansas in the Art and Design department. He served as Professor of painting until his retirement in June 1988. Sudlow has the distinct honor of being named first artist in the history of Kansas as the “Governor’s Artist” for the state in 1974. He was also named Kansan of the Year in 1997.

Although Sudlow has had considerable opportunity to work and live elsewhere, and occasionally he has ventured out into the world for varying periods of time, he is always drawn back to the center of the world for him—Kansas. It is a spiritual migration that calls him home to depict the essence of a certain place at a particular time. And for all of us who know and love this spot on the map called eastern Kansas, Sudlow captures a transcendent depiction of where spirit and nature are mysteriously linked.

Spiritual Journeys: The Art of Robert Sudlow is accompanied by a book of the same name, with essays by Dr. Wes Jackson, MacArthur Fellowship recipient and President of the Land Institute; Dr. David Cateforis, Associate Professor, Department of Art History, University of Kansas; and Dr. Preston Fambrough, Professor, Department of English, Baker University.

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Spiritual Journeys: The Art of Robert Sudlow, made possible by a generous grant from Ross and Marianna Beach/Douglas County Bank and Hortense Oldfather, is organized and toured by ExhibitsUSA. The purpose of ExhibitsUSA is to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms and cultures, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. ExhibitsUSA is a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1972.

For the most accurate credit language, use the paragraph under 'How is ExhibitsUSA funded?' at http://www.maaa.org/exhi_usa/faq.html