ROBERT

This passionate painter was brought up in a church where his mother, a writer, served as an organist as well as learning about meditation practice from his grandparents while attending Quaker meeting. His father, a math and computer teacher, car mechanic, bee keeper and gardener taught him a connection to the math that exists in all things, the importance of hard work, getting up in the morning and a deep love of and relationship to the land. He continued to study meditation practices and the similarities and contrasts of different approaches to art and ways of life, all parts of these worlds would heavily influence his career. “My travels throughout the world have tempered what I do in gestural painting with what I have seen and experienced firsthand as well,” explains Gregg.

It is these inspirations which have allowed him to test his process, somewhere between a ‘meditative moment and an athletic event’ in different ways, including when he was asked to make his mark on an 8,000 square foot mural on Roosevelt Island. This unique project all began when Krista Ninavaggi, founder and director of interior design firm K&Co., brought him on as the third artist in three years to work on a large outdoor pool that they had been originally brought in for a much-needed aesthetic update. Gregg’s work helped to draw attention to the pool, and each year they continue to bring on someone new. According to Gregg, this pool project also dramatically impacted how he worked, especially given all of the texture and tiles. “A former student reminded me of the technique of putting a brush on the far end of a stick to give perspective and do these circles by hand, which I had never tried. It’s a lot more work but it is beautiful and opened things up quite a bit. Think of it: 20 circles on the deck of the pool. When I measured them, the smallest circle was larger than anything I had ever done.”

Though he gave up his Brooklyn studio during the pandemic, Gregg, who teaches and lives on the Upper West Side, remained resilient and was given an artist residency with a non“THINK OF IT: 20 CIRCLES ON THE DECK OF THE POOL. WHEN I MEASURED THEM, THE SMALLEST CIRCLE WAS LARGER THAN ANYTHING I HAD EVER DONE.”