Robin Hextrum is an award-winning contemporary painter who lives and works in Denver. She grew up in a small coastal town in Northern California where she developed a passion for the natural environment that continues to inform her paintings. During her undergraduate studies at USC, she completed a double major in Fine Art and Neuroscience and studied with renowned artists including Ruth Weisberg and Ron Rizk. She then received her MFA in painting from Laguna College of Art and Design where she worked with some of the top representational painters in the country. Following her MFA, Robin completed a second master’s degree in art history at UC Riverside. Her paintings represent a fusion of her traditional art training and her knowledge of art history. Robin is currently a tenured professor and chair of the Visual Art Program at Regis University. She has exhibited her paintings internationally and is the recipient of prestigious grants from The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and The Stobart Foundation. Art critic Ray Mark Rinaldi notes that Hextrum’s work “manages to be romantic and mathematical all at once.” Robin has gallery representation at Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado.
EDUCATION
MA in Art History at UC Riverside (2015-2017)
MFA in Painting at Laguna College of Art and Design (2010-2012)
BA in Fine Arts & BA in Neuroscience at the University of Southern California (2005-2009)
SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
• Animal Kingdom, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO September 2023
• Dreams from the Anthropocene, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO October 2022
• Delicate Balance, Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO January 2022
• Reimagining the Sublime, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO August 2021
• Rewilding, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO January 2021
• Visions of Nature Unraveling, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO September 2020
• Breaking Tradition, K Contemporary, Denver, CO March 2019
• Hybrids, Pirate Contemporary Art, Lakewood, CO September 2018
• Close to the Surface, B-minus Studios, Santa Ana, CA September 2016
• Flora and Fauna, Studio C Gallery, Los Angeles, CA January 2016
• Transitions, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA June 2013
• NATURE | NURTURE, Exhibit [A] Gallery, Long Beach, CA August 2012
• Sex and Sports: Exploring the Condition of the Modern Female Athlete, Lindhurst Gallery, USC, LA, CA September 2009
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
• 33rd Annual Holiday Miniatures Exhibition, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO December 2023
• ANIMALIA, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO August 2023
• Pink Progression: SYNERGY, O’Sullivan Gallery, Regis University, Denver, CO September 2022
• LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA January 2022
• 31st Annual Holiday Miniatures Show, Abend Gallery, CO December 2021
• Scope International Art Fair, Miami, FL 2021
• LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA July 2021
• Bow Mar Paint Out, Bow Mar, CO June 2021
• 30th Annual Miniatures Exhibition, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO December 2020
• 5x5 Project VIII, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO November 2020
• The Walls Between Us, Center for Visual Art, MSU, Denver, CO August 2020
• CauseArt Exhibition, Google Offices, Boulder, CO February 2020
• Dearly Disillusioned, McNichols Building, Denver, CO January 2020
• As of Now, K Contemporary, Denver, CO December 2019
• Turning Points, Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 2019
• Art Auction, Arranged through K Contemporary, Denver, CO November 2019
• Art of the State, The Arvada Center, Arvada, CO January 2019
• As of Now, K Contemporary, Denver, CO December 2018
• West Fest, Lakewood, CO August 2018
• Fine Arts Center Gala & Celebration, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO August 2018
• Amuse Yuex, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO June 2018
• Lay of the Land, Arts Longmont, Longmont, CO May 2018
• Humane League Celebration for the Animals, PlatteForum Gallery, Denver, CO April 28 2018
• Pink Progression, Boulder Public Library, Boulder, CO March 2018
• Regis College Faculty Exhibition, O’Sullivan Gallery, Denver, CO October 2017
• Symmetry in Motion, Studio C Gallery, Los Angeles, CA September 2016
• (En)Gendered (In)Equity: The Gallery Tally Poster Project, LACE, Los Angeles, March 2016
• Body of Water, El Camino College, CA September 2015
• Collector’s Choice, Montage Resort, CA September 2015
• CAP: Emerging Artists, Laguna Beach, CA June-August 2015
• Folding Light, Five Column Art Studio, Los Angeles, CA June 2015
• Water-Line Exhibition, Studio C Gallery, Los Angeles, CA May 2015
• Bloom, Five Column Art Studio, Los Angeles, CA April 2015
• Divergence: Faculty Biennial, Rio Hondo Community College, March 2015
• LCAD Faculty Exhibition, February 2015
• Des Femmes Exhibition, Studio C Gallery, Los Angeles, CA December 2014
• Post-it, Group Show, B Minus Studios, Santa Ana, CA November 2014
• All Media Exhibition, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA September 2014
• Collector's Choice, Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, CA June 2014
• Oniera: I Dream of Self, Studio C Gallery, Los Angeles, CA June 2014
• Gallery Tally, For Your Art, Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA March 29th 2014
• Women in Art, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA November 2013
• (en)Gendered (in)Equity, West LA College Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA October 2013
• Magnitude 7, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio June 2013
• MFA 2013, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA May 2013
• The Flip Side, LCAD Faculty Show, Gallery 793, Laguna Beach, CA March 2013
• Connections, Lynn J Gallery, Buena Park, CA November 2012
• Bits and Pieces, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA October 2012
• The Realist Perspective, Gallery 533, Los Angeles, CA August 2012
• Artists Remember the Year 1942, Group Exhibition, OC Great Park, Irvine, CA July 2012
• Magnitude 7.7, Manifest Gallery Cincinnati, Ohio June 2012
• Consequences, Arc Studios and Gallery, San Francisco, CA May 2012
• LCAD MFA Exhibition, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach CA May 2012
• Nature Exhibit, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA October 2011
• Urban Ocean, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA June 2011
• Student, Mentor, Faculty Exhibition, House of Balsamic, Irvine, CA May 2011
• MFA Faculty and Student Show, Irvine Arts Center, Irvine CA February 2011
• Apocalypse Wow! Group exhibition, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood CA December 2009
• NCAA Art Exhibition, Group exhibition, NCAA Convention Center, Washington DC, MD Jan. 2009
• Louis Galen Annual Artletics Exhibition, Galen Center, USC, Los Angeles, CA February/March 2008.
• Advanced Drawing Exhibition, Watt Hall, USC, Los Angeles, CA April 2008
• Summer Exhibition, Santa Reparata, Florence, Italy, August 2007
GUEST JUROR
Atmosphere, D’Art Gallery, in Collaboration with Women’s Caucus for Art Colorado, Denver, CO September 2023
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Damsite Artist in Residence, Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico, March 2019
Lacawac Sanctuary Artist in Residence, Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, July 2018
AWARDS & HONORS
• University Research and Scholarship Committee (URSC) grant, Regis University, 2023-2024
• Regis University Faculty Development Committee Summer Research Grant 2018/2019/2020/2021/2022/2023
• Regis University Faculty Development Committee Travel Grant 2018/2019
• GLUCK Arts Fellowship UC Riverside 2016-2017
• The Stobart Foundation Grant 2015-2016
• 21 Under 31 Southwest Art Magazine September 2015
• Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for Representational Painters Fall 2013
• Gallery Favorite Award, Bits and Pieces Exhibition, Linus Gallery Fall 2012
• Curator’s Choice Award, Nature Exhibition, Linus Gallery Fall 2011
• 2nd place in Painting Urban Ocean Festival Spring 2011
• LCAD President Award Fall 2010
• USC Presidential Scholar 2005-2009
• USC Renaissance Scholar, 2009
• USC Discovery Scholar, 2009
• Phi Beta Kappa 2008
• David X. Marks Foundation Scholar athlete 2006-2009
• USC Dean's List Fall 2005- Fall 2009
• 2007-2008 Pac-10 Conference All-Academic First Team
• PAC 10 Scholar Athlete Women’s Rowing 2009
COLLECTIONS:
• The Angell Foundation. Los Angeles, CA.
• UC Berkeley Athletic Office. Berkeley, CA.
• USC Rowing Office, Heritage Hall, Los Angeles, CA.
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
• Abend Gallery, Denver, CO (2020—present)
• K Contemporary, Denver, CO (2019—2020)
• Pirate Contemporary Art, Lakewood, CO (2018—2019)
• Studio C Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2014—2017)
CURATING
I worked with a team of fellow graduate student curators at UC Riverside to design, develop and curate an exhibition titled Unruly Bodies: Dismantling Larry Clark’s Tulsa at the California Museum of Photography. I played an instrumental role in the background research, conceptual development and exhibition design for the show. I also wrote an essay for the museum catalog connected to this show titled “Rebel Masculinities.” This essay compared the depiction of masculinity in Danny Lyon’s photo series Bikeriders to Larry Clark’s representation of working class white male youth in his photo series Tulsa.
LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS
DENVER UNIVERSITY: “Incorporating the Animal Figure” guest lecture to Deborah Howard’s Figure Painting course on May 2, 2022.
DENVER UNIVERSITY: “Working with Realism and Abstraction” guest lecture to Deborah Howard’s Intro to Oil Painting course on Feb 15, 2022.
REGIS UNIVERSITY: “Art & the Environment,” Guest lecture about environmental themes in my creative work for Professor Alyse Knorr’s course Nature, Literature, and the Ecological Self at Regis University, September 21st 2017.
LCAD: “Developing and Proposing Curriculum.” Guest Lecture at LCAD’s MFA program about the process of designing and developing a new course. September 24th, 2014.
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY: "Shunga: Erotic Art in Edo Japan." Guest Lecture at Chapman University for an Asian Art History Course taught by Ed Fosmire. April 20th, 2014.
LCAD: "Fractal Geometry and Art." Guest lecture at LCAD for a Critical Reasoning course under Grant Hier. March 2014.
THE REPRESENTATIONAL ART CONFERENCE: "Biases in Aestheticizing the Human Form: A Call for Racial and Gender Awareness in Representational Artwork." Academic Paper Presentation at the TRAC Conference, Ventura March 4th 2014.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA "Sex and Sports": November 2008, November 2009 and November 2010. For three consecutive years I gave a guest lecture to Michael Messner's Sociology Class at USC about how I conveyed gender issues in sports through my artwork.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
REGIS UNIVERISTY
CHAIR OF THE VISUAL ART PROGRAM (AY 2022-2023 & AY 2024-2025)
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF VISUAL ART, FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT (FALL 2017 – PRESENT)
Courses Taught at Regis University:
• FAA 330 Design Foundation | Fall 2017
• FAA 331 Graphic Design Foundation | Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022
• FAA 472 Advanced Drawing | Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022
• FAA 490E Advanced Drawing Independent Study | Spring 2019
• FAA 474 Drawing Studio | Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022
• FAA 490E Drawing Studio Independent Study | Spring 2022
• FAA 250 Intro to Painting | Fall 2017, Spring 2018
• FAA 450 Advanced Painting | Spring 2018
• FAA 451 Painting Studio | Spring 2018
• FAC 201G Art in Culture: Art as Activism | Spring 2023
• FAHS 490E Art History Thesis | Fall 2020
• FAHS 490F Senior Art History Thesis | Fall 2020, Spring 2021
• FAHS 450 Medieval Art History Independent Study | Spring 2022
• RCC 430M The Art of Mathematics | Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall/Spring 2021
• FAA 497 Senior Art Studio | Fall 2020
• FAA 499 Senior Thesis | Spring 2022
• RCC 200 Writing Analytically | Fall 2019
• FAC 201G Art as Activism | Spring 2023
• FAC 200 Art in Culture | Spring 2017, Fall 2018
TEACHING ASSISTANT UC RIVERSIDE (FALL 2016 – SPRING 2017)
• AH 17A Western Art: Prehistoric to Byzantine | Fall 2016
• AH 008 Modern Western Visual Culture | Spring 2017
PART TIME FACULTY LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN (SPRING 2013 – SPRING 2017)
• FD 120 Fundamentals of Perspective | Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014 (2 sections), Spring 2015 (2 sections)
• LA 231 Math, Science & Art: The Golden Ratio to Neuroaesthetics | Spr. 2014, Fall 2014, Spr. 2015, Fall 2015, Spr. 2016
• LA 238 The Voyeuristic Gaze: The Depiction of Women in Art from Edo Japan and Europe | Fall 2013
• LA 228 Gender Studies in Popular Culture | Fall 2015
• Contemporary Still Life Painting: Continuing Education for Art Educators | JUN-AUG 2015
• Portfolio Development Program: Drawing | JUN-AUG 2015
• Graduate Advisor, Laguna College of Art and Design MFA program | Fall 2014
• Figure Drawing Workshop Instructor | Aug 2012 – May 2014
PART TIME FINE ARTS FACULTY RIO HONDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE (SPRING 2016 – FALL 2016)
• ART 101 Introduction to Art, Rio Hondo Community College | Spring 2015
• ART 131 Intermediate and Advanced Drawing, Rio Hondo College | Fall 2015
TEACHING ASSISTANT, LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN (FALL 2011 – SPRING 2014)
• Teaching Assistant for William Havlicek in AH 420 Aesthetics | Spring 2014
• Teaching Assistant for Jonathan Burke in FD 110 Fundamentals of Drawing | Fall 2012
• Teaching Assistant for James Galindo in FD 120 Perspective Drawing | Fall 2012
• Teaching Assistant for Betty Shelton in FA 402 Advanced Portraiture | Spring 2012
• Teaching Assistant for Sergio Rebia in FD 110 Fundamentals of Drawing | Fall 2011
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Undergraduate Research Assistant for Sociology professor Michael Messner for the 2010 journal article on Gender in Televised Media (Summer-Fall 2009)
• Gender in Televised Sports News and Highlights Shows 1989-2009. CO-Investigators: Michael Messner, Ph.D & Cheryl Cooky Ph.D., Research Assistant: Robin Hextrum. June 2010
SCHOLARLY WRITING
The Return of the Academy, MA Art History Thesis, UC Riverside, May 2017.
Rebel Masculinities, Essay published in the Museum Catalog for Unruly Bodies: Dismantling Larry Clark’s Tulsa, California Museum of Photography, 2016.
Biases in Aestheticizing the Human Form: A Call for Racial and Gender Awareness in Representational Artwork. Academic Paper Presented at the TRAC Conference, Ventura March 4th 2014.
Transitions, MFA Written Thesis, Laguna College of Art and Design, December 2012.