Duke Robillard: Audio to Visual

March 25, 2022 - May 1, 2022
Duke Robillard

Guitar maestro Duke Robillard shares some of his classic blues and jazz photographs taken in the decade 1990 through 2000 and presents a selection of his abstract acrylic paintings from 2015 through the present.

Though music and sound were my initial muse as a young man, the visual arts have become more and more important to me over the years for a few reasons.

Spending so much time touring in Europe through the 1980s and ‘90s led to a lot of my spare time being spent in many of Europe’s finest art galleries. The work displayed in these galleries awoke my love of visual art of all kinds. I was profoundly impressed with it all, but started gravitating toward enjoying impressionism and the abstract works of artists like Miro, Klee, Man Ray and Kandinsky. Artists that created their own reality drew me in to a wordless reality that spoke to me the way that music does. 

I also developed a strong interest in photography starting in 1990 which became another obsession of mine for many years. All the photographs in this show were taken on vintage American, Germany and Japanese cameras that were as much as seventy years old at the time these photos were shot. 

When my rotator cuff completely let go in 2015, I was unable to play guitar for a year and a half. In an effort to occupy my mind and do something that was productive, I started painting. My right arm was fine, so I spent most of my days painting my frustrations away. I had dabbled in painting and drawing in the past but painting my blues away became an obsession for a few years. I still love painting and in this exhibition there are many paintings from this period to recent months.  

I hope you enjoy seeing what I do when I’m not playing guitar!Duke Robillard 

www.dukerobillard.com

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