Robert Montgomery: The Future Is An Invisible Playground

San Diego, California – Announcing Robert Montgomery’s first US solo exhibition in five years, THE FUTURE IS AN INVISIBLE PLAYGROUND. In this, his second solo exhibition with Madison Gallery, the artist explores the universal themes of Ecology, Equality, Kindness and above all Hope.

“We do not know what the future holds for us, but it will be ours, and it can be positive if we work together to make it so”. – Robert Montgomery

Cutting to the core of the most crucial issues of our times, Montgomery who defines himself as an "artist who works with poetry,” works in language and is best known for his site-specific installations, light, solar, fire and space. Commenting on our contemporary society and highlighting his personal and philosophical beliefs, he engages completely with the public through his evocative, cryptic, and emotionally resonant art. Verse after verse of translucent and intuitive poetry, Montgomery invites us to reflect on ways to salvage paradise, rebuilding it from wreckage and going back to a natural sense of peace through an awe-inspiring melancholic yet hopeful lyrics.

The artist will offer a reading of his work during the opening and a special print edition of Montgomery’s, “The Peace Poem” will be made available for purchase with proceeds benefitting Choose Love, the Ukraine Emergency Appeal.

Robert Montgomery was born in 1972 in Scotland. He was initially inspired by the graffiti artists of East London, the concrete poetry of Ian Hamilton Finlay, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Philip Larkin, but also the philosophy of Guy Debord, and the art of James Turrell. He was the British artist selected for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012, the first biennale in India, and the Yinchaun Biennale in 2016. He has had made public installations across Europe including major outdoor light installations on the site of the old US Air Force base at Tempelhof in Berlin. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas and the Albright Knox in New York. He has had solo museum projects at the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, Oklahoma Contemporary in Oklahoma City, and the Cer Modern Museum in Ankara. He has worked with low consumption LED lighting and solar power since 2010 and he was one of the official artists for ArtCOP21 in Paris in 2015. His work is hugely popular on the internet, the piece “The People You Love Become Ghosts Inside of You” has been shared online more than 20 million times.

Madison Gallery was founded by Lorna York in 2001. The program focuses on internationally recognized, museum-level artists whose work contributes to domestic and international cultural dialogue. The gallery presents significant Latin artists and brings international artists to San Diego for the first time. The core gallery program focuses on young and emerging artists, but the gallery also punctuates the program with historical exhibitions to provide depth and context. 

Artists represented by Madison Gallery receive critical attention and are widely exhibited. Many of the gallery's primary artists, originally shown with Madison Gallery, are now being shown internationally and by established galleries in other cities, proving that the gallery has become a springboard for young talent.