Last year I helped my friend Rob with the artist’s statement to cover his then-latest gallery show, called “Pronk,” an old Dutch word used to describe, among other things, a certain sort of exuberant, luxuruious still-life painting popular in the 17th century Netherlands (pronken being a verb that means “to strut”; ontbitje, “little breakfast,” is generally food-related still life subcategory). It’s been a great joy to have a personal front-row seat to Rob’s continual vibrant exploration of the surprising intersection between old Dutch masters and contemporary pop and visual culture. Back in the day, Andy and I used one of Rob’s early paintings for the very popular cover of re:generation quarterly’s “Evangelism” issue, linked here via the portfolio of our then-art directors (and designers of this very website), Yee Design. 
“Ontbijtje,” gouache on paper, by Robert Amesbury, from the 2007 show “Pronk” at the Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston, Bernard Toale Gallery
Dec 11, 2008, updated Mar 31, 2025