Robert Townsend sees in stories and histories. Through his lens, a coterie of matchbooks become cues for cultural recollection; a stack of souvenir booklets from the 50s speak to social memory.
Memorable moments seem to materialize for Townsend and his art. On a recent trip to art mecca Marfa, Texas, a storefront in the echoey downtown caught his eye; its crenulated façade freshly painted white with pistachio tile as trim. Returning when the light was perfect, he positioned himself across the street from the vacant building, not a car in sight until all of a sudden, a fire-engine red Jeep sailed by and pulled a U-turn to claim the primo spot in front of the photogenic edifice. Thanks to this stroke of serendipity and fiery cameo, the composition became complete, and Townsend took the reference photo now propped beside a towering canvas in his studio. “I don’t know if it would have made a great painting without the red truck,” he says in reflection.
