Rate My Professor Robin Hextrum

Robin Hextrum serves as Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Regis University, joining the faculty in Fall 2017 as Assistant Professor of Visual Art. She earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Fine Arts and Neuroscience from the University of Southern California between 2005 and 2009. Hextrum continued her studies with a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Laguna College of Art and Design from 2010 to 2012, followed by a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of California, Riverside from 2015 to 2017. Before her tenure at Regis, she taught part-time at Laguna College of Art and Design from 2013 to 2017, including courses on neuroaesthetics, contemporary still life painting, and figure drawing; served as a teaching assistant at UC Riverside in 2016-2017; and instructed at Rio Hondo Community College in 2016, covering introduction to art and advanced drawing.

Hextrum's research and creative practice centers on contemporary oil paintings that fuse traditional techniques with modern art discourse, exploring humanity's complex relationship with the natural environment through themes of environmental advocacy and animal rights. Her work draws on art historical legacies, neuroscience insights, and disparate visual iconographies to create layered compositions. Key solo exhibitions include 'Rewilding' at Abend Gallery in Denver (2021), 'Visions of Nature Unraveling' (2020), 'Breaking Tradition' at K Contemporary (2019), and 'Hybrids' at Pirate Contemporary Art (2018). She has participated in numerous group shows, such as 'The Walls Between Us' at the Center for Visual Art at MSU Denver (2020) and 'Art of the State' at the Arvada Center (2019). Among her honors are grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (2013) and the Stobart Foundation (2015-2016), the GLUCK Arts Fellowship from UC Riverside (2016-2017), and selection as '21 Under 31' by Southwest Art Magazine (2015). Additional support includes multiple Regis University Faculty Development Center research and travel grants. Her scholarly contributions encompass the MA thesis 'The Return of the Academy' (2017). Represented by Abend Gallery, Hextrum's exhibitions underscore her impact in contemporary representational painting.