"Animals are good for thinking." Claude Levi-Strauss
Early tribal cultures believed the natural world to be the bridge connecting earth and spirit. Animals were regarded as powerful spiritual beings that could connect humans to unseen realms, the natural world, and each other. Along these lines, Robert Bissell creates and transports us to a completely different atmosphere from modern daily life and invites us to learn more about ourselves.
In his animal paintings, the world of animals is a mirror for human existence, self-definition and self-reflection. Yet, these are not mere children's tales. "Bissell's work disarms by narrating vitally grown-up and urgent allegories in the guise of child-like humor," William Zimmer, art critic for The New York Times warns.Early tribal cultures believed the natural world to be the bridge connecting earth and spirit. Animals were regarded as powerful spiritual beings that could connect humans to unseen realms, the natural world, and each other. Along these lines, Robert Bissell creates and transports us to a completely different atmosphere from modern daily life and invites us to learn more about ourselves.
Bissell's paintings explore the idea that animals have metaphysical importance to our own spiritual well-being. Lured into a realm devoid of humans, the animal characters require we consider our own condition and place in nature. While whimsical at first glance, there is underlying tension and precariousness beneath the images. Disarmed, we objectively consider ourselves without familiar references.
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