Roberta Paul
Born 1956, Monticello, NY, lives and works in Newtonville, MA
Nude in a Blue Robe, Meme, 2002, gouache on panel, Museum Purchase with funds provided by James and Audrey Foster, 2002.38
Roberta Paul’s art is autobiographical in nature. Her subjects are based on family, memory, history, and time. Nude in a Blue Robe, Meme was inspired by tiny drawings of clocks executed by the artist’s father while he was recovering from a stroke. By expanding and enlarging on these images, Paul creates an abstract portrait imbued with family history. According to the artist, “The clock refers to personal biography as well as the universal experience of aging and the uncertainty with which we regard the passage of time.” The misshapen clocks, fading coloration, and marked spatial recession very effectively address issues of memory and memory loss. The title refers to Milton Avery’s Nude in a Black Robe and the enigmatic Large Glass or The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (La Mariée mise à nu par ses celibataires, même) by Marcel Duchamp.
