frosch&portmann is pleased to present Beautiful William, the gallery’s first solo exhibition by Seattle based artist Robert Yoder.

The artist’s new collages and paintings combined with found papers have a sadcore and downbeat quality inspired by the shoegazing music genre that Yoder has been favoring recently. Beautiful William is a song by the band “The Handsome Family” about a man who goes missing under mysterious circumstances. Evoking sentiments of loss and the crushing weight of melancholia that can seep into a person’s every action and thought, the texture of Yoder’s paintings also contain a lambent quality rendered in heavy strokes of oil creating a dynamic contrast and a graphic energy. Combining sexual and depressed imagery, Robert Yoder creates a haunting air of gloomy libido.

This commingling of pervasive melancholy and sexual energy is at the core of the work shown. The impasto brushstrokes convey the surface of human skin and draw the viewer into a tactile connection with the subject. Taking the time to view Yoder’s paintings slowly and carefully rewards the viewer with rich details and shifting perspectives. The skin is the first layer the viewer encounters in the abstract paintings, then, upon closer inspection, sexual and personal details like phalluses, scars, and bruises emerge. Imagery takes shape in the viewer’s mind, only to recede as another image forms.

The new collages are deftly edited and predominantly composed of images from high end and lifestyle magazines. These collages re-ask the question of desire in terms of aesthetic judgment. The artist changes the figure to be more than what it is, to make it abstract, to remove the connotations associated with the figure. The removal of the obvious subject exposes its true object. Familiar and intangible objects are melded, creating multiple and unexpected perspectives. Yoder also works in a sculptural manner in Beautiful William, incorporating new combinations and introducing sculptural relief into his works.

Just as the protagonist vanishes in the song “Beautiful William,” Yoder obscures and covers crucial elements of his visual language within the compositions of his works. The details and elements of his paintings and collages that are “missing” are really right there in front of the viewer, which can either create a disorienting sense of disconnection or a strong connection with his works.

Born in Danville, VA, Robert Yoder lives and works in Seattle. He received his B.F.A. from the James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA and his M.F.A. from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.