Robert Bechtle's Photorealist Paintings of Suburban Banality at Gladstone Gallery

From January 22 to February 22, 2014, Robert Bechtle's exhibition of photorealist artworks was showcased at Gladstone Gallery in New York. The artist, who hails from California, is celebrated for his intricate portrayals of deserted streets and parked vehicles, drawing from photographs taken in San Francisco and Northern California. Rather than being influenced by Richard Diebenkorn, Bechtle looked to 1950s German art and the Pop art exhibitions of 1962 for inspiration. His pieces, including Six Cars on 20th Street (2007) and Bob's Sebring (2011), feature a sun-faded color scheme to illustrate everyday scenes, emphasizing the beauty of overlooked suburban life in contrast to the spectacle often found in contemporary art.