(Above: Artist Robert Schlegel painted people, landscapes, buildings, and animals — sometimes in combination, as with this whimsical painting, titled Man with Cane; photo by Paul Carter.)
By Randi Bjornstad
June 28, 2022 will be the first anniversary of the unexpected death of revered Oregon artist Robert Schlegel, and the Karin Clarke Gallery in downtown Eugene is marking the approach of that milestone with an exhibit titled Remembering Robert Schlegel (1947-2021).
In announcing the show, Clarke called Schlegel “one of the region’s favorite artists and one of the gallery’s most collected.” but also one of her gallery’s most collected. A lifetime Oregonian, Schlegel hailed from the small town of Banks, the Washington County community where his family had been been farmers since 1877.
He began painting full time in 2002, after a career as a teacher and a public school administrator.
This exhibit “features a small selection of early work, as well as a variety of his later paintings, mixed-media works, and sculptural pieces,” Clarke said. Schlegel’s paintings, many in vibrant colors, included features at once representational and abstract, with subjects that varied from buildings and landscapes to animals and birds. He worked mostly on canvas or board, although many of his artworks also included collage.
In his later years, he “had begun to explore three-dimensional forms,” Clarke said, using materials such as paper, wire, string, and fabric.
But Schlegel also was a man deeply devoted to family above all.
“He taught his grandchildren to draw, paint, drive on farm roads, clean swimming pools, plant gardens, mow lawns, trim trees, and to support those you love; he often attended up to three activities involving his grandchildren in one day,” according to an obituary published in The Oregonian. “He taught us to appreciate the trees, to notice the sun hitting the hills or the fog sitting on the horizon. He noticed things and he taught us to notice too. There are no words to say how much he will be missed.”
Clarke feels the same way about her relationship with Schlegel and her appreciation of his work.
His last solo show at her gallery in 2020 featured work affected by his pandemic experience, and she had no qualms about what it might include.
“He’s one of the artists that I love to represent, and when it comes to exhibits, I trust him completely,” she said. “I tell him to bring whatever he wants for a show, and it’s always wonderful.”
Remembering Robert Schlegel (1947-2021)
When: Through June 25, 2022
Where: Karin Clarke Gallery, 760 Willamette St., Eugene
Hours: Noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays
Information: 541-684-7963 or karinclarkegallery.com
