Robert Brinker's series of graphite and cut paper is a mass of contradictions. At first glance Brinker's work is vaguely abstract, almost innocuous. But when the eye follows the feuille of cut paper and the dark graphite tracings, a completely different picture emerges. Shadowed by the layering of media and the calm yet chaotic scramble of images, the sparkling stars, bows and placid flowers slowly morph into more startling figurations: phalluses, orifices and raw and oddly sexual activities. With Brinker's work, seeing is not believing but unveiling.


Brinker's drawings can be found in the permanent collections of the Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Progressive Insurance, Cleveland; The British Library, London; The New York Public Library, New York; Altria Group Inc., New York; Henry Schein Inc., International Headquarters, Melville; Philip Morris Companies Inc., New York, and in numerous established private collections.