Charlie Roberts Builds a "Metropolis"

Juxtapoz, April 9, 2025
Palo Gallery is pleased to announce Charlie Roberts: Metropolis, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. This latest body of work builds upon the artist’s magical realistic iconography, focusing on scenes of urbanity and the ways his characters move through public spaces. The keystone of this exhibition is his monumental reimaging of Otto Dix’s 1927-1928 painting, Metropolis. Robert’s painting, of the same name, takes direct inspiration from Dix’s seminal triptych, yet Roberts’ takes a different approach to Dix’s immediate socio-political critiques. Using a lighter touch, Roberts’ takes the complex scenes of a thriving metropolis (with clear references to New York) and instead explores the inherent strangeness of human interaction. His figures are often intertwined, yet clearly isolated and wrestling with internal strife.