i met rob at the silver room in wicker park in the late aughts.

we hit it off immediately. brothers separated in a new life. and since then, we’ve worked together on any number of projects. starting a collective. making records. filming documentaries. putting on art exhibitions and public events. i’ve watched his kids grow up and he’s been a favorite uncle to mine.

he opened connect gallery in 2016 as our collective was slowly falling apart. and it’s become a community staple in hyde park. i’ve heard rob refine his philosophy over the years. from “it all works” to “music is the key” to “art is the catalyst for social change” before he appended “and innovation” to complete his vision.

and once that happened, it was as if the world began to open up to him in new ways. things that were dormant suddenly came to life. and it was during this period of growth that i asked him to sit down with me and get on camera. at this point, he still hated talking. any form of attention. he would shy from it. but he was open to it.

and this interview was one of the catalysts to him becoming an invited public speaker. in this piece, you are seeing a vision fully realized in its earliest stages of expression - drawing on his decades of experience in the art world, creating, representing, and managing the flow of art through this world.