Thursday, June 25, 2009

Featured Artist: Rob Strati

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Please introduce yourself to our readers that might not be familiar with you.


My name is Rob Strati. I was born in Boston MA. And grew up in Columbus OH. I lived in San Francisco CA for 10 years where I showed with a number of galleries in San Francisco and LA. I moved to the Bronx NY about 1.5 years ago and have been working on experimental projects independently as well as with a variety of artists and innovative groups.

How did you get interested in making art? What kind of job(s) do you do besides creating art?

I’ve always made things for as long as I can remember. So, art has always been a part of my way of living. I do User Interface design and have my own consulting business based in New York. Here is my website for that work www.stratiux.com.


Do you teach, write, curate shows, and/or manage a gallery? If so, give us some details.

I don’t do any of those things in traditional ways, but I do work with other artists on some of my projects. I also create art object in clear plastic boxes and leave them in random places for people to find. In this way I feel I both curate my own shows and manage experimental galleries because I see the clear boxes as exhibition spaces, which are portable.

Can you give our readers some insight into your work in general? How would you describe your work to first time viewers?

My work deals with space, form and the fundamental elements of point, line and plane. All of these are tools we use to understand reality. These are the building blocks and I am interested in exploring how these impact our perception.

I am also interested in finding new ways to show, share and exhibit art. I am interested in the dynamic of exchange that occurs between the viewer, artist and the artwork. I like to challenge conventional notions around these issues by exhibiting in unconventional locations as well as established galleries and art centers and by both selling and giving my work away in different circumstances.

What is the most interesting comment you have heard from a viewer?

Great question and hard to remember. I did a project recently in NY where we gathered feedback from people on the street regarding their thoughts about the work and if they wanted to take a piece it was given it to them. There are some great comments in those tapes. Here are two of the five tapes we made:






– There are three more on the Strati Lab website in the projects section http://www.robstrati.com/projects.htm

I wanted to encourage engagement on the part of the viewer and break down a lot of the wall that are put up in certain gallery and institutional settings.


Tell us about your "PRINTS". What are the thoughts and inspirations behind the creation of this piece? What is the specific message you strive to convey to viewers?

In my print work I am inspired by diagrammatic representations (ie musical notation, architectural schematics and mappings). Diagrammatic representations use simple sets of visual elements to convey highly complex realities.


harmonic transitions: 2008 - digital composition / print - 26"x26"
Image courtesy of Rob Strati

Depending on the arrangement of the elements, dramatically different realities can be conveyed. The same elements can be used to represent music, architecture, engineering, astrophysics and even the written word.


elliptical progressions: 2008 - digital composition / print - 26"x26"
Image courtesy of Rob Strati

The seemingly complex are essentially intricate compositions of layered simplicity. My work often deals with exploring these layers.


mapping Esperanza Miyake's profile: 2008 - digital composition / print - 26"x26"
Image courtesy of Rob Strati


Can you discuss your creative process? How does it all start, what techniques and materials you used to create the "PRINTS"


sequential transitions: 2008 - digital composition / print - 26"x26"
Image courtesy of Rob Strati

I was originally inspired by some experimental music I heard in Columbus Ohio by a group called Queen Mae and the Bells. It made me imagine a new way to represent music and I started to explore those ideas in my prints. Beyond that I just work with the connections I see occurring in the process and build on those connections. I use the design software program Adobe Illustrator to make my prints.



spherical intervals: 2008 - digital composition / print - 26"x26"
Image courtesy of Rob Strati


How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

I showed with galleries for many years and still do, but at some point I realized it was easier to fund my own projects and since I have done that it has given me an enormous amount of freedom to create and exhibit when and how I want to.

What are you working on right now? Are you planning any exhibitions of your work in the near future?

I currently have a print up at the International Print Center New York in NY, NY (New Prints 2009/Summer - Portraits: In Pursuit of Likeness ...thru July 31) and recently completed a project call the Pattern Library on the Waterpod in NY, NY. My next project is called Micro-tectures and will be exhibited publicly on the streets of NY in the coming months.

Would you provide links to articles and reviews about your work?


Can we find you on facebook, myspace, blogs, and/or youtube?

Yes, please use the following links:

Are you available for commissioned works? Do you have website(s) for interested readers to learn more about your work?

Yes, I am available for commissioned works. I can be reached by email robstrati@yahoo.com or on my cell at 614.226.1643. My website is located at http://www.stratilab.com/



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