ROB
GONSALVES (1959 - 2017) - BIO
Rob
Gonsalves' work is an attempt to represent human beings desire
to believe in the impossible.
Rob Gonsalves developed an
interest in drawing from imagination using various media.
By age twelve, his awareness of architecture grew as he learned
perspective techniques and began to do his first fine art paintings
and renderings of imagined buildings. After an introduction
to Artists Dali and Tanguy, Gonsalves began his first surrealist
paintings. The "Magic Realism" approach of Magritte
along with the precise perspective illusions of Escher came
to be influences in his future work. In his post college years,
Gonsalves worked full time as an architect, also painting
trompe l'oeil murals and theatre sets. After an enthusiastic
response in 1990 at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Gonsalves
devoted himself to painting full time.
Although Gonsalves' work is
often categorized as surrealistic, it differs due to the fact
that the images are deliberately planned and result from conscious
thought. Ideas are largely generated by the external world
and involve recognizable human activities, using carefully
planned illusionist devices. Gonsalves injects a sense of
magic into realistic scenes. As a result, the term "Magic
Realism" describes his work accurately.
Rob Gonsalves has exhibited
at Art Expo New York and Los Angeles, Decor Atlanta and Las
Vegas, Fine Art Forum, as well as one-man shows at Discovery
Galleries, Ltd., Hudson River Art Gallery, and Kaleidoscope
Gallery. June of 2003, Simon and Schuster introduced North
America and Canada to Imagine a Night, Gonsalves' first hardcover
book featuring sixteen paintings. Due to the success of Imagine
a Night, Simon & Schuster is planning to release Imagine
a Day in 2004. |