The 21st century is already opening up to a new age of beauty in a world desperate with decay and the decadence of brutality. The work of Robert Mirek is one of the burgeoning oases where we discover tranquility in a fixed and certain skill and intelligence which gives credit to the viewer as a person of imagination and taste. The refined esthetic which gives rise to the Float Series is the result of experience in art history as well as studio practice, and the consequence of intense discipline and sureness of touch. This is art without philosophical pretense, political inclination or fabricated trendiness. The Float drawings are a distillation of elements of the broader compositions of the jewel-like paintings which preceded them. The drawings, while not figurative, suggest human gesture. The carefulness of the work connotes the orderly intentions behind the better aspirations of the humanitarian mind, and the decisiveness of the compositions recall other artists who may have produced works more literal but not more evocative. Robert Mirek is concerned with the beauty of his materials transmuted by thought. His success is immediately perceived and gratefully acknowledged. The visual advantage, for those fortunate to see his work, is ineffable.

Arnold Klein
Arnold Klein Gallery
April, 2000

 

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