The visual artwork of writer and artist Robert Klein Engler, who passed away suddenly last fall, will be on display at Connect Gallery in February. Engler was a painter and a published poet and writer.
The exhibit, Retrospective Works by Robert Klein Engler,will feature approximately 20 of his works spanning different periods of his life. He painted daily, working primarily in a naïve style; abstractions of landscapes and cityscapes in boldly graphic color, adding figure and subject, sometimes alluding to line work of Miro and Picasso. His more recent work was imbued with Native American references.
Not one to shy from controversial subjects, his abstract work touched on a wide range of topics from politics to sex and landscapes and cityscapes to the spiritual. Engler taught college English in his hometown of Chicago, lived for a time in New Orleans, and finally settled in Omaha. He worked in the education department at Joslyn Art Museum and taught at College of St. Mary’s.
The artist’s work showed primarily through Connect Gallery and the Birkholder Project in Lincoln. He wrote for the Canada Free Press, numerous Literature magazines, and much of his poetry can be found on-line by simply searching his name.
The retrospective runs from Wednesday, February 6thto Saturday, March 2nd. There will be an opening reception on Friday, February 8th, from 5:30PM to 9PM Further information is available at connectgallery.net, or by calling 402-991-8234.