ARTIST STATEMENT
There is a word in Portuguese, "Sentido," that has to do with experiencing things with all one's senses. Not just to transfer what you have seen... but to use all your senses to record the place or object. That is what my work is about.
When I go to the Amazon Basin and other places in Brazil, I take photos, make small watercolor drawings, write down not only what I see, but also what I smell, hear and feel under my feet. I remember what it was like to touch something and taste the environment, I record all these experiences. But I never paint there. The time is devoted only to recording ideas and feelings. I then return to the studio in Healdsburg, print out the photos, go through my notes and start to record not only what I could see, but, what I knew to be true about the place.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Bob Nugent received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1971. Since that time he has been awarded numerous grants and fellowships including a Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, NEA Fellowship, Fullbright Travel Grant and a California Arts Council Grant for his work in Brazil. In 2005, after 34 years of teaching painting and drawing, Bob retired from Sonoma State University. The following year he was elected to Professor Emeritus in Art at Sonoma. Bob has had over 120 solo exhibitions and has been included in over 650 group exhibitions throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.
Bob Nugent first became interested in the Indigenous peoples and rain forest of South America in the summer of 1984 during a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil to see an artist friend. Over more than 30 years he has made repeated sojourns to South America and in particular the Amazon Basin of Brazil. Returning to Brazil now one to two times a year, Bob continues his research and study of the flora and fauna of the Amazon Region as well as other parts of the country. But it is the vital layer, as Nugent calls it, which interests him the most.
CV
EDUCATION
MFA University of California, Santa Barbara, 1971
BA College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1969
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (over 120 solo exhibitions; including most recent)
2024 Dan Galeria Contemporary, São Paulo, Brazil
Sonoma State University Library Art Gallery, Rohnert Park, CA
2023 Erickson Fine Art, Healdsburg, California
Dan Galeria Contemporary, São Paulo, Brazil
Miro Gallery, San Jose, California
2021 Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
2018 Siskiyou Arts Museum, Dunsmuir, California
Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut
Mosaic Gallery, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, California
Erickson Fine Art Gallery, Healdsburg, California
2017 Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
2016 Atelier 6000 Gallery, Bend, Oregon
2015 Lock Haven University Gallery, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Illinois Central University, Peroria, Illinois
2014 Erickson Fine Art Gallery, Healdsburg, California
2013 Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, California
Susan Street Art Gallery, Solana Beach, California
2012 Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, Hartsville, South Carolina
2011 North Central College, Naperville, Illinois
Byatt-Claeyssens Gallery, Sonoma Academy, Santa Rosa, California
2010 Tercera Gallery, Palo Alto, California
Dan Galeria, Sao Paulo, Brazil
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (over 650 group exhibitions; including most recent)
2023 Dan Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil
Museum of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, California
2022 Dan Contemporary Art, São Paulo, Brazil
2021 Site Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York
Cummings Art Center at Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut
Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, California
Brand Associates, Glendale, California
Erickson Fine Art Gallery, Healdsburg, California
Calabi Gallery, Santa Rosa, California
2019 São Paulo International Art Fair, São Paulo, Brazil
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, California
Cumberland Gallery, California
2018 MuBE Museum, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Graton Gallery, Graton, California
Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, California
2017 Mosaic Gallery, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, California
Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
2016 San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, California
Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
Brand Associates, Glendale, California
Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, Indiana
Jasper Arts Center, Jasper, Indiana
2015 Orange County Creatives Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
Will's Creek, Allegany Arts Council Saville Gallery, Cumberland, Maryland
Santa Rosa Junior College Herold Mahoney Gallery, Petaluma, California
Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, Overland Park, Kansas
Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
2014 Orange County Creatives Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, California
Ice House Gallery, Petaluma, California
Guest Artist, Becoming Independent, Santa Rosa, California
Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho
Magnolia Editions: Awagami Paper Show, Oakland, California
Dan Galeria, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2013 Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, California
2012 Kings Art Center, Handford, California
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho
Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
2011 Artiscope Brussles, Belgium
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts
Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
Fresh Paint, Culver City, California
Dan Galeria, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2010 Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, California
Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico State, Chico California
COMMISSIONS/SPECIAL PROJECTS (including most recent)
2023 Charlie Palmer Dry Creek Kitchen, Healdsburg, California
2021 Four Seasons, Napa, California
2017 Sheraton Hotel, Redding, California
2014 Charlie Palmer Dry Creek Kitchen, Healdsburg, California
2013 Grupo VR, New York, New York
2011 Grupo VR, Sao Paulo, Brazil
University of California, La Jolla, California
MAJOR COLLECTIONS
Santander Collection, Brazil
Four Seasons, Napa
Sutter Health, Santa Rosa
Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara
Museo Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil
Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Oakland Museum of Art
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach
International Telephone and Telegraph
International Paper Corporation
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Itau Bank, São Paulo, Brazil
Bank of America Collection
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
Banco Sudameris, Brazil
Museum of Art and History @ the McPherson Center
Hewlett Packard
J.P. Morgan
Hilton Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA
Coca Cola Corporation
McDonald's Corporation
Fairmont Hotels Inc.
Washington State Collection
Museum of American Samoa
Triton Museum of Art
Arizona State University
Valley Bank of Nevada
Museum of Art, São Paulo, Brazil
Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cerritos College
Connecticut College, New London
University of California, Santa Barbara
Air France Airlines
Western Electric, New York
Kemper Insurance, Chicago
Catallactics Corporation, Chicago
Santa Barbara City College
La Jolla Museum of Art
Macrovision, San Jose
Kaiser Permanente
DeSaisset Museum, University of Santa Clara
Ventura College
Hyatt Hotel, Phoenix, Arizona
Westin Hotel, Indianapolis
Indiana University
Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro
San Francisco City Collection
Hyatt Regency, Cologne, Germany
3M Corporation
Pepperdine University
Northern California Museum of Art
General Mills Corporation
Sonoma State University Academic Foundation
Benziger Imagery Series Collection
Art Museum of Santa Cruz County
Hallmark Cards Inc.
Royal Management Corporation, Lombard, Illinois
Center for Book Arts, São Paulo, Brazil
Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, Washington
Globo Television, São Paulo, Brazil
Museum of Modern Art, São Paulo, Brazil
Amerada Hess Oil Company
Manufacturers Bank, Chicago
City of Lafayette, Lafayette Library, California
ARTICLES-REVIEWS-PUBLICATIONS (including most recent)
Colecao Santander Brazil - Artes Visuais, Brazil 2023
An Exhibition in Your Pocket: Bob Nugent, Narrated by Preston Metcalf, Filmed and Edited by Bryan Callanta, December 7, 2021. https://youtu.be/GeYeqDCn75Y
Sentido, Paintings by Bob Nugent, ed. By Georgina Balkwell and Kara L. de Lambert, published by Fine Arts Press, California, 2020
Etchings by Bob Nugent, Connecticut College Library 2017 Fall Newsletter, December 2017
Brazil Bob Nugent, Art in America, January 2018
Bob Nugent at Erickson Fine Art Gallery, Metroframe Blog, January 9, 2018
To move into knowing: The Sentido throughout Bob Nugent’s Ecos de Inhotim, Nashville Arts Magazine, October 2017
Bob Nugent: Ecos de Inhotim’ at Cumberland Gallery, Tennessean, September 27, 2017
Artist Spotlight: Bob Nugent on Success, Rejection and Sentido, Artwork Archive, July 2017
A powerhouse of contemporary counterparts opens at Cumberland Gallery, Nashville Arts Magazine, May 2016.
Hidden Talents Take Center Stage at Alliance Art Show, Sonoma Medicine, Spring 2016
Bob Nugent brings the ‘Amazonia’ to campus, Lock Haven University’s Student Newspaper, October 1, 2015
Petaluma exhibit to show two views of Brazil, The Press Democrat, August 26, 2015
Bob Nugent at Erickson Fine Art Gallery, Art in America, March 2014
Erickson Fine Art Gallery: Bob Nugent, The Press Democrat: Celebrating the Arts, March 6, 2014
Erickson Fine Art Gallery: Pedacos de Paisagem, Sonoma Discoveries, March 2014
Alta Classe, KAZA Magazine, Brazil February 2012
VISITING ARTIST & LECTURES (including most recent)
2023 Guest Lecture, Museum of Sonoma County, California
2021 Guest Lecture, Triton Museum, Santa Clara, California
2018 Guest Lecture, Connecticut College Library, New London, Connecticut
2017 Juror, “Art’s Annual 2D Competition and Exhibition” Triton Museum of Art
2016 Guest Lecture, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
Atelier 6000 Studio and Gallery, Bend, Oregon
2015 Lock Haven University Gallery, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
SRJC Herold Mahoney Library Gallery, Petaluma, California
2013 Guest Juror, Day on Green, Santa Rosa, California
Panel Creative Growth Seminar, Sonoma County Museum, Santa Rosa, California
Guest Juror, Graton Art Gallery, Graton, California
2012 Guest Lecture, Kings Art Center, Hanford, California
RELATED EXPERIENCE, CONSULTING & COMMUNITY SERVICE (including most recent)
1998-2015 Consultant Curator, Imagery Series Winery, Glen Ellen, California
2012-2013 Board of Directors, Sonoma County Museum, Santa Rosa, California
2009-2012 Board of Directors, Becoming Independent, Santa Rosa, California
1998-2009 Art Advisory Committee, Becoming Independent, Santa Rosa California
Requests for Full Resume may be placed in the Contact link.