Robert Brokl

Artist, printmaker and activist

What is Robert Brokl known for?

Robert Brokl, born in 1948, is a renowned American visual artist and activist from Marshfield, Wisconsin. Known for his engaging work in printmaking, painting, and drawing, Brokl crafted a distinctive visual language that seamlessly integrates the influences from German Expressionism, Japanese woodblock printing, and the Bay Area Figurative Movement. His work has been celebrated for its graphic line, expressive gestural brushwork, tactile surfaces, and sensitivity to color, mood, and light.

Brokl's work has drawn international attention, with exhibitions at prestigious institutions like the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Tokyo Art Museum, Oakland Museum of California, International Biennial of Woodcut and Wood-Engraving in Banská Bystrica, and San Jose Museum of Art. His art also finds a place in esteemed public collections, including the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, the Library of Congress, the Oakland Museum, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.

Aside from his artistic endeavors, Brokl has also been an active contributor to the Bay Area's cultural scene as an educator, curator, and activist, with a special focus on gay rights and historic preservation in Oakland. He resides and works in North Oakland with his spouse, Alfred P. Crofts.

Brokl's journey began in Marshfield, Wisconsin, where he was born to Sylvester Brokl, a farmer and construction worker, and Ruth (Ware) Brokl, a factory worker and nurse's aide. His interest in art was evident from an early age. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in 1967, initially as an English major, leading a dynamic academic life that included a notable interruption due to his expulsion for antiwar movement activities.

Following his move to California in the early 1970s, Brokl reignited his passion for art by taking classes at Laney College in Oakland and exhibiting works by 1976. He pursued an education in art at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was profoundly influenced by the Bay Area Figurative Movement and faculty artists, such as Elmer Bischoff, Joan Brown, Jay DeFeo, Karl Kasten, Sylvia Lark, and Mary Lovelace O'Neal.

Throughout the 1980s, Brokl built a reputation for his figurative and narrative printmaking and painting. His work was exhibited in numerous group exhibitions at venues like the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, Ruggiero Henis Gallery in New York, the San Jose Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum, FAMSF, and The Haggin Museum, with international showcases in Tokyo and Thailand.

Discover more about Robert Brokl at his official website.