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by Arlene Distler
There have been many strong paintings over the years, as attested to by the show in West Brattleboro. But when the artist was not on his game, the work could feel too amorphous. Spiritual, yes, but needing “teeth” – somehow, to bring that spirituality down to earth a bit so we have something to grasp, visually and experientially. In the nineties Roberts started incorporating architectural elements into the paintings, sometimes actual cornices or other pieces of buildings (Roberts has worked on and off as a carpenter). The hard edges, whether actual or painted, played against the atmospheric paint, and lent the work structure. There are several fine examples of this period at the Meeting House. The “El Dorado” paintings are made up of acrylic paint, tissue paper, and metal leaf on panel boards. These are delicate, elegant balancing acts that are lifted into the realm of the spiritual by virtue of their quiet dignity and centeredness. They luxuriate in color, what light does as it refracts off sun tones, or is negated and held back by darkness. Orange, white, and black paint is overlaid with gold, either speckled or in bands. In “El Dorado #10: Rio Grande Gorge”, a vertical area of ultramarine winds its way across the middle of the picture, dividing it diagonally, the blue a vivid relief to sun-parched hues. 
Rodchenko. It was great knowing someone like that. There were artists he loved, particularly George Innes (American 18th Century landscapist). Sometimes he imagined his own work to be close to Innes, but I would tell him, ‘No, it’s Turner!’…he was so atmospheric”. In the Edwards Jones show, it appears he has finally deferred to his friend and titled one painting, “Turneresque”. And indeed it is. Unlike most of the paintings in the show, whose palette I have already described, “Turneresque” is all silvery blues with hints, as in sunlight breaking through a mist, of pale yellow, the colors and tones similar to those Turner used in his many paintings of the canals of Venice, the ornate edifices lost in fog and mist. Yet as a painter, Roberts was restless and curious and exploratory. His friend, fellow carpenter and artist Rick Zamore, confessed, with the tone of an affectionate and chiding older brother, “He was always going back and forth” (between realism and abstract), “and it drove me nuts. I wanted him to choose one thing or the other.” We can conjecture where he would have taken his art next. Says Dan Sherry, Roberts “loved pluralism…For an artist working out some esthetic in your paintings, going away from it, coming back…it’s like being in a warm bath.” Joe LoManoco, whose office has hosted this show, said, “Even as we hung the show, he was looking at his 
paintings, finding new things.” 
