Winston Roeth Biography

As an art student, he attends the University of Illinois, the University of New Mexico, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

During the 1960s, in the early stages of his artistic career, he comes across some artists who will deeply influence his practice.

In 1963, while visiting the Art Institute in Chicago he sees for the first time Ad Reinhardt's 'Black Square'; "I didn't know what it was about, but I knew it was about something" he later confesses. From then on, Reinhardt's work becomes a point of reference for Roeth. Three years later, Roeth is particularly startled by 'Nebraska', a painting by Brice Marden. Something about it is "new" and "open" to Roeth, and he will continue to value those qualities.

In 1968-69, while attending the Royal College of Art in London, Roeth paints a series of single-colored paintings (9ft x 12ft), which are breakthroughs for him. In the words of Roeth "The paintings began with the first stroke and ended when the entire surface was filled. It took me days to complete it with a very small brush. One color... it was enough. I felt free". In 1974, at the Robert Elkon Gallery in NYC, he sees a group of small grid drawings by Agnes Martin. Never before he had seen anything so "clear" and "focused". The small pen and ink drawings are transcendent.

The phenomenology of color, light, and space represent central issues in his painting practice. Following years of research exploring light and color on material surfaces, he has developed the core of his technique. Making use of a brush, he applies layer upon layer of pure pigments mixed with water and polyurethane dispersion to slowly and extensively explore the surface. He strives to find color saturations that turn the pigments into the light.Nowadays, Winston Roeth is a globally known artist. His studios are based in Mid-Coast Maine and Beacon, NY; however, he exhibits extensively in Europe, mainly in Germany and Italy.

He is one of a selected group of artists in the prestigious art collection of Giuseppe Panza di Biumo.

He lives and works with his wife, Susan Osberg, a choreographer and dancer. He has worked with her in the Dance Theatre creating set designs and collaborating with lighting designer Susanne Poulin.

Text courtesy Osart Gallery.