Momento Mori: Paintings by Robert Singleton

ON VIEW JANUARY 10 – MARCH 15, 2026

Robert Singleton's exhibition Memento Mori profoundly explores mortality through the rarely seen series, Visions from 1978. Singleton examines the boundaries between mystical enlightenment and mortal understanding in these large-scale works. His artistic journey led him to a crucial realization about the duality of human nature, as he reflects: "I became unnerved when it occurred to me that this painting could be for the edification of the dark side of humanity. My thinking was resolved by concluding that we carry both sides inside of us and that the dark can inspire people.

Using large, atmospheric canvases, Singleton creates moments where soft bursts of light break through deep shadow. These glowing transitions echo the flashes of clarity that often accompany loss, struggle, or personal change. His work asks us to consider how both darkness and light shape our inner lives—and how embracing both can lead to deeper wholeness.

Rooted in personal experiences of grief and healing, Memento Mori becomes a quiet yet powerful journey. Each painting invites contemplation, offering space to consider the transitions we all face and the possibility of finding meaning within them.

This exhibition encourages visitors to pause, reflect, and reconnect—with themselves, with their memories, and with the ever-present balance between light and shadow.

Memento Mori: Paintings by Robert Singleton Exhibition is presented with support from the Bernard H. & Blanche E. Jacobson Foundation, Daywood Foundation, The Elliot Family Foundation, Fund for the Arts, and Herscher Foundation, Inc. The Clay Center’s performing and visual arts offerings are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.