La Luz de Jesus Gallery is pleased to welcome back artist Rob Clayton with a solo exhibition of acrylic and oil paintings. With this work Clayton attempts to scratch the surface of everyday reality. His paintings are meditations on the planned obsolescence of the modern industrial world...what is new and shiny one moment becomes obsolete and dull the next. Clayton believes that in throwing off the new for the newer, we never come to terms with the past and its role in our existence or the impact we have on our own lives and the lives of others. This respect for the past has manifested itself in previous work that was reminiscent of old circus sideshow banner and "naive" folk art. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Clayton graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1988 and currently teaches there.

"Fear is inherent in all humans. I paint these images in my own attempt to stave off that which is inevitable. I am not immune to superstition. I use it to my advantage for the images I put in my paintings, thus diminishing its influence. My hope is that I will overcome fear by exorcising it in my paintings."

Robert Clayton