About
Rob Clayton is a Los Angeles-based artist known for his thought-provoking and deeply abstract art. He creates work that is inspired by the complexities of the working class and their interactions with the world around them. The artist has shifted from his previous collaborative practice with Clayton Brothers to a more experimental and self-directed approach, allowing him to fully express his creative instincts.
In his current body of work, Rob explores the idea of shadows and shapes as symbols of the deceptive material world. He uses a light muted palette of hues to express the heavy and light sides of life. The artist's use of color in his works is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also helps to convey a message. The works are full of texture and depth, with a focus on the effects of light and shadow. The oily substance that seems to ooze from the gears and levers in the scrappy plasma cut metal sculptures, caked in thick paint, expresses a heavy, enervated side of life. Meanwhile, the use of materials such as oil stick, spray paint, acrylic, and other media gives the drawings and paintings a lighter, more human point of view.
Rob Clayton currently serves as a full-time faculty member at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he passes on his knowledge and expertise to the next generation of artists.