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Robert Jessup is known for his painted stories characterized by complex color and richly textured impasto. In his new body of work Mr. Jessup has created a vocabulary of new characters.
In his statement about the new paintings he states: "Rabbitman, Mr. Rat and the Woman I call The Happy Homemaker. These characters have become the dominant subjects of my recent work. In the past, my imagery always suggested the presence of a story and, from painting to painting, the characters would have a generic likeness to each other. Yet there never really was a pre-existing story, each painting evolving on its own to arrive at a mysterious story like place. The search and the mystery of the imagery was the point, not a definite narrative that the imagery illustrated. But, sometimes, I would feel that the real subject of my painting was the style and method of the painting itself. And, I came to want more out of my subject matter. The meaning of the imagery itself has to count for as much as the way the imagery is created. However, I have no desire to invent stories before I make the pictures. So, instead of having pre-existing stories, I have come up with pre-existing characters. Now, each picture is a new excuse to find out something more about them. To create their history.
OK, so Rabbitman is mainly me. Or my stand-in.
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Mr. Rat is his companion and nemesis. The Happy Homemaker is the Woman. Her history seems to be quite convoluted. She probably comes out of an earlier relationship with some other character but now pines for Rabbitman. There are ambiguities and perils in their relationship that I don't yet understand. It seems that Pinocchio is the creation of Mr. Rat and Rabbitman. He begins his life as a living puppet, but has the innate capacity to morph, piecemeal, into a real flesh and blood human. He is always in a state of flux between being a puppet and a human. Pinocchio is consumed by his existential dilemma, and makes and plays with hand puppets himself in an effort to come to terms with the meanings of a character's life.
Mr. Jessup is an associate professor of Art at the University of North Texas. He has received a number of grants and awards including the Artist in Residence at the Roswell Museum and Art Center in Roswell, New Mexico.
His work can be found in a number of public collections including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY; The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; The New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; the South Texas Institute for the Arts. He also has work in a number of corporate collections throughout the United States.
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 Robert Jessup 2003 Bio
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