Berkeley Stucco (Primary Title)
Robert Bechtle, American, 1932–2020 (Artist)
"I try for a kind of neutrality or transparency of style that minimizes any artfulness that might prevent the viewer from responding directly to the subject matter." —Robert Bechtle
One of the original Photorealists, Bechtle conveys seemingly flat, neutral, and emotionless slices of ordinary life in his sun-drenched San Francisco area surroundings. Using his own photographs of his family and neighborhood, Bechtle transfers the details of precise moments of quiet Americana to his canvases.
In addition to capturing this particular woman on this particular day, Berkeley Stucco addresses issues of composition, color, and light. Bechtle’s interest in the formal structures of his paintings was influenced by fellow Bay Area artist Richard Diebenkorn. Although Bechtle resisted Diebenkorn’s abstraction and painterliness, he admired his sense of geometry and referred to Berkeley Stucco as his “homage to Diebenkorn.”
Get Real: Selections from the Collections of the VMFA, Piedmont Arts Association, Martinsville, VA, April 4 – June 28, 1998; William King Regional Arts Center, Abingdon, VA, February 5 – May 15, 1999; Olin Hill Gallery, Roanoke College, Salem, VA, October 10 – December 5, 1999
Six Takes on Photo-Realism, Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion, Stamford, CT, November 15, 1991 – January 22, 1992
California Classics: Art from the 1960s and 1970s, Bayly Art Museum of the University of Virginia, April 19 – June 16, 1991
Realism in a Post-Modern World: Selections from the Sydney and Frances Lewis Collection, Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, VA, January 21 - March 25, 1990
Bedford Gallery, Longwood College, Farmville, VA, January 17 – February 19, 1988
The Sydney and Frances Lewis Foundation Collection of Late 20th Century Art, Piedmont Arts Association, Martinsville, VA, February 27 – Match 27, 1985; The Atheneaum, Alexandria, VA, May 7 – June 2, 1985
Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV, June 2 – August 18, 1984
Muscarelle Museum, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, February 4 – April 14, 1984
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, March 25 – May 29, 1983
Memorial Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, January 30 – March 13, 1983
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA, November 14, 1982 – January 16, 1983
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, September 10 – October 31, 1982
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, March 28 – May 30, 1982
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, January 31 – March 14, 1982
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, November 15, 1981 – January 10, 1982
Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, August 31 – October 16, 1981
Ulrich Museum, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, April 1 – May 31, 1981
Allen Priebe Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI, January 27 – March 15, 1981
Madison Art Center, Madison, WI, November 23, 1980 – January 18, 1981
Realism/Photorealism, Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK, October 5 – November 23, 1980
The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, September 21 – November 9, 1980
Dupont Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, February 18 – March 21, 1980
Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, TN, December 2, 1979 – January 27, 1980
The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, September 13 – November 4, 1979
Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, March 22 – May 2, 1979
The Sydney and Frances Lewis Foundation Collection, The Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, December 5, 1978 – January 8, 1979
Dupoint Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, 18 February - 21 March 1980
Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee, 2 December 1979 - 27 January 1980
The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio, 13 September - 4 November 1979.
Inst. of Contemporary Art, Univ. of Penn., Philadelphia, Penn., 22 March - 2 May 1979.
"The Sydney and Frances Lewis Foundation Collection", The Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 5 December 1978 - 8 January 1979
[1] Purchased from O.K. Harris, New York on January 6, 1978.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
