Born in 1972 in Chapelhall Scotland, Robert Montgomery brings a poetic voice to the tradition of contemporary text art. The artist currently lives and works in London, and is renowned for his large, public light installations and distinctive black and white billboard artworks.
Montgomery’s work engages with the urban world through his translucent poetry, taking a direct approach to universal themes such as power and love, expressing his views on contemporary life and affirming his personal and philosophical beliefs.
The artist’s installation of “THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE BECOME GHOSTS INSIDE OF YOU, AND LIKE THIS YOU KEEP THEM ALIVE”, at the De La Warr Pavilion in 2010, became one of the most talked about artworks of the last decade, with its image shared more than 24 million times online. Montgomery was a shortlisted finalist for the UK National Holocaust Memorial in 2017 with the scheme exhibited at the V&A Museum in London, and recently had a solo show at the Aspen Art Museum in January 2019.
Writing in the Black and Blue Literary Journal, Dane Weatherman states; “To encounter the work of Robert Montgomery is to make a tender encounter whose tenderness is enhanced by the public, communal quality of his work. To encounter his work is to have your body filled with a sad thunder and your head filled with a sad light. He is a complete artist and works in language, light, paper, space. He engages completely with the urban world with a translucent poetry. His work arrives at us through a kind of lucid social violence. No one has blended language, form and light in such a direct way.”
Robert Montgomery
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Robert MontgomeryMantra Painting, THE END OF GRIEF, 2019Acrylic & oil on canvas1000 x 1000 mm
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Robert MontgomeryPsychic Love Wave, 2017Wood, acrylic paint, copper and low consumption LED lights1870 x 900 x 140 mmEdition of 5 plus 1 artist's proof
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Robert MontgomeryThe Deciduous Knowledge, 2016Two hand trested copper panels, black valchromat, LED lights1840 x 2440 mmEdition of 2 plus 1 artist's proof
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Robert MontgomeryHammersmith Poem, Black Metal Version, 2017Black painted laser cut aluminium with 12V LED lighting1800 x 1200 mmEdition of 3 (#1/3)
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Robert MontgomeryA hundred years, 2014Black Valchromat, filcris recycled PVC, wood, Paint, 12 vold led lights and copper1900 x 1370 mm
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Robert MontgomeryOscar Night Poem , 2013Oak, ploymer and 12 volt led lights1770 x 1800 mm