Label & Artist Series
Mandarins by Robert Carlson
Robert Carlson has been a painter for more than twenty years. Born in Karlsruhe, Germany, he moved as a child to El Paso, and later attended the University of Texas. Carlson has had exhibitions in Texas, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Hawaii, and Germany; his work hangs in numerous galleries and private collections.
Carlson's pair of Mandarin ducks for the 1999 Paraduxx label follows the German folk art style that dominates his current creative period. Traditional German woodcarvings captivated Robert's imagination as a boy. The rounded, smooth, shiny shapes and bright primary colors are reflected in his "nutcracker" style. Carlson understands that "the lightness and fun of my work is deceptive because it is more exacting technically."
Two Mandarin ducks, natives of Asia, were recent and very rare visitors to the Napa Valley River banks, probably having escaped from a zoo or private pond. These ducks were the inspiration for the 1999 Paraduxx label.
Robert Carlson visited the winery during the 1999 vintage and offered his contribution to the final wine with more than his artistic talent. He sampled fruit, harvested grapes, and shoveled out tanks, thus playing his own special part in the vintage that would bear his artwork.
