Robert Dozono’s artistic career spans 50 years and multiple media. His upcoming exhibit in the Runyan Gallery “Garbage Paintings and Other Works” showcases works in watercolor, charcoal, oil and garbage.
“The natural environment is very important to me. All these years I have reused objects that one cannot recycle – plastic items without numbers, wiper blades, rubber bands, toothpaste tubes, hair dryers, etc.- into my work. The river and their unfortunate interaction with humans are evident to me when I go fishing with my friends. Sometimes we try to carry out garbage others have left.” Dozono says. “Many of my paintings are large river scenes of the Clackamas River and other areas of Oregon. I attempt to foreground what we are doing to our natural resources by using a canvas layered with what is normally cast aside.”
Dozono, a Portland based artist, received his MFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, taught at Portland Community College from 1973 until his retirement in 2001 and has been affiliated with Blackfish Gallery since 1986. His work has been exhibited regionally and internationally including, Maryhill Museum of Art, Nikkei Legacy Center, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art and the Orkrensni Museum (Czeck Republic).
The Newport Visual Arts Center is open Wednesday – Sunday 12-4pm
The Oregon Coast Council for the Arts manages the Newport Visual Arts Center and the Newport Performing Arts Center, and serves as the regional arts council for Oregon’s seven coastal counties.