Robert Bean
Narrative Artist | Arts Educator | Artist Mentor
Born and raised in Arkansas, Robert has decades of experience creating narrative images in a variety of media. Most fond of ink and paint, Robert loves to create bold images that incorporate text and visual elements together. He is also a strong believer in the practice of figure drawing, a particular favorite of his to teach. He developed his skills at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he received a degree in Studio Art with an emphasis in Drawing. Robert is also a fellow and facilitator of the ArtistInc program from the MidAmerica Arts Alliance and has served as the Department Chair of Painting and Drawing at the Windgate Art School of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. He has also taught as an instructor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and has his own line of online classes that he offers through RB Fine Art. He resides in Little Rock, AR with his partner Chris Massingill and her Sock Monsters. He's still slinging stories on canvas and paper.
CV
Awards
2023 Individual Artist Fellowship, Arkansas Arts Council
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023 Figure Drawing: On-Screen and Off, Ann Manners and Alex Pappas Gallery, Windgate Center for Art + Design, UA Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
2022 Truth in Fiction: Part One, Nexus Coffee and Creative, Little Rock, AR
2020 Thumbnails and Gestures: An Exhibition of Preparatory Works, Norman Hall Art Gallery, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR
2019 Figures Big and Small, The Ann Manners and Alex Pappas Gallery, UA Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
2017 Personal Spaces installation of wall drawings, Arkansas Arts Center,
Little Rock, AR
2014 Strangers Now and Then, Mugs Café, North Little Rock, AR
2013 Hoping to Sleep for Magnolia Laden Dreams, East Arkansas Community College, Forrest City, AR
2013 Strange Lenders, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR
2011 Storylines: From Past to Present, North Central College, Napierville, IL
2011 Can't Even Whisper: Stories of Love and Loss, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL
2010 Silence is Never as Golden as When It's Gray, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 We Need a Break, with Diane Harper, Gallery 26, Little Rock, AR
2022 A Show of Crowns, Local Color Gallery, Fayetteville, AR
2022 Hot Weather, Cool Faculty, artWAYS Faculty Exhibition, Brad Cushman Gallery, UA Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
2020 art@hendrix!, Windgate Museum of Art, Conway, AR (virtual exhibition with printed catalog)
2020 Radius I, Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AR
2020 Inside and Out: A Figurative Works Exhibition, with Logan Hunter and Jeremy Couch, The Galleries at Library Square, Little Rock, AR
2019 Swim at Your Own Risk, with Diane Harper, ACANSA Gallery, North Little Rock, AR
2019 Ultraviolet, Gallery 360, Little Rock, AR
2018 You Are Not Alone, with Diane Harper, Gallery 26, Little Rock, AR
2017 Modern Ink, Butler Center Galleries, Little Rock, AR
2017 Nightflyers, with Greg Lahti, Mugs Café, North Little Rock, AR
2016 B-Sides, with Michael Warrick, Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, Little Rock, AR
Selected Juried Shows
2019 Drawn, Spiva Center for the Arts, Joplin, MO (Honorable Mention Award)
2012 SAAC Annual Juried Art Show, South Arkansas Arts Center, El Dorado, AR
Selected Publications
2023 UALR, Pulaski Tech Offers 2 Artists' Exhibits, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, by Sean Clancy
2020 Interview in support of Radius I, Bradbury Museum of Art
2020 Sustaining Craft Interview
2020 The Arkansas Art Scene Blog
2019 Art Beat: Harper and Bean Simpatico at ACANSA Show, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, by Ellis Widner
2018 Poetry the Impetus for 'Spaces' Exhibit, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, by Ellis Widner
2016 Artists in Residence, AMP The Power of Business
2012 Strengthen Your Art Sales, Professional Artist Magazine (artwork featured)
Teaching Experience
2021 - current, RB Fine Art Zoom Classes
2018 - current, Adjunct Instructor of Drawing and Professional Practices, Windgate Center for Art + Design, UA Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
2016 - 2023, Department Chair of Painting and Drawing, Windgate Art School, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock, AR
Social Media
Find me online at these sites:
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