Acrylic, gold leaf on gesso'd heavy weight paper

34 x 26 x 2 inches, framed

Fair Market Value: $2,200

Starting Bid: $1,540

Buy It Now: $3,300

BOB CULVER, also known as "The Nebraska Kid," is an Omaha-based artist working from his studio and gallery in Florence, where he has developed a distinctive body of work influenced by Pop Art, American culture, personal history, and the Midwestern experience. Working primarily in acrylic and oil on gessoed MDF, Culver cuts, shapes, and modifies the painting surface before applying paint. The resulting works exist between painting and sculpture, transforming the traditional picture plane into a dimensional object. Culver's work combines humor, nostalgia, craftsmanship, and social observation. His imagery draws on popular culture and history while reflecting his enduring interest in the ways American life and cultural change shape personal experience. He earned a BFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed two residencies at Kent State University in the 1970s. During his years in New York, he worked with Pop artist Red Grooms, who affectionately called him "The Nebraska Kid." Grooms later created a sculpture bearing the nickname for Culver's 23rd birthday, a connection that has remained an important part of his artistic identity.