Referencing real-world forms while resisting actual formal depiction, Robert Janitz’s paintings explore the membrane of connective tissue that exists between representation and abstraction. These paintings make no attempt to escape or subvert the confines of the picture plane, choosing instead to address their medium frankly and simply. The works resist formal complexity and traditional beauty in order to focus on and push forward the immediate, visceral effect of their materiality. The content of the work is a secondary result of a self-reflexive gesture; as the artist paints, the physical action triggers the emergence of narratives that are both personal to the artist and familiar to us.