Robert Goldman's 1980s Lower East Side Portraits Emerge at Hionas Gallery After Decades

Hionas Gallery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is currently showcasing a remarkable collection of monumental figure portraits by artist Robert Goldman, created during the early 1980s. These pieces had been largely overlooked for over 35 years. Goldman, who was known as Bobby G at the time, initiated this series in 1980 after relocating to a basement apartment beneath ABC No Rio on Rivington Street. His subjects were the youth of the Lower East Side. The series culminated in 1984 with a striking 50-foot-long, 10-foot-tall mural, executed guerrilla-style on a cinder-block wall of a dilapidated tenement at Delancey and Suffolk streets, now replaced by a large development. Goldman’s artist statement emphasizes the portraits as reflections of the youth's "most powerful inner essence projected out into the world beyond." The exhibition runs on Saturdays from 12-6 pm at 1426 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, until March 31. Coverage was provided by critic Walter Robinson, and a photograph features Bobby G in front of his 1984 mural. The artworks are praised for their enduring freshness and vitality.