Glenn Rothman (American, 1930-2007) was an artist of many mediums. He was classically trained in both painting and photography, though his primary focus was oil on canvas during the mid-twentieth century. He earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Fine Art from Washington University and Southern Illinois University, respectively. He held teaching positions at a variety of institutions, including the Portland Art Museum School, Columbus College of Art and Design, and The Ohio State University.
In the 1980’s, Rothman began digitally altering his photographs on a computer, creating highly stylized, vibrant images. He is considered a pioneer in this field as computers and digital alteration were very new technologies at the time. His 1989 solo show at the Viridian Gallery in New York City was the first solo show of computer enhanced photography. These works were exhibited at the Ohio State Faculty Club in a 2014 show titled, A New Way to Paint: Computer Enhanced Photography from the 1980’s.
“Much of my artwork pertains to social freedom; issues which affect all of us regardless of gender, race or preferences”
Rothman has noted in a 1996 artist statement that much of his artwork “pertains to social freedom; issues which affect all of us regardless of gender, race or preferences.” Though many of his paintings express these sentiments literally, his later computer-based work moved to more metaphorical representations of social issues.
Glenn Rothman’s works have been featured in over fifty solo exhibitions, including the Viridian Gallery in New York City and the Janus Avivson Gallery in London, UK. He has won the Juror’s Award for the group show Small Works at the 8o Washington Square East Galleries in New York City, the Medal award at the Solomon Gallery in Los Angeles, California, and the Purchase Award at the Parkside National Small Prints Exhibition in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was also featured on the cover of Arts New York Magazine in May 1988. His works are part of both public and private collections all over the world, including Paris, France, Majorca, Spain, and Caracas, Venezuela.