January 2018
INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION
Rob Millard-Mendez
INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION
Rob Millard-Mendez
Artistic Statement
The primary aim in my work is to illustrate and analyze concepts that I find enthralling. The resulting objects deal on many levels with formal and conceptual issues. In my work, I hope to show an equal blending of art, craft, and the presentation of engaging ideas in intriguing ways. The works are meant to involve the viewer visually and intellectually.
My sources include mythology, science, history, and American Folk Art (among others). The objects I make reflect the sensibilities of a person steeped in New England practicality who (for better or worse) ended up learning about things like art history, existentialist philosophy, and post-structuralist theory. Many of my sculptures are based on themes from classical mythology viewed through the lens of contemporary events. I have a strong interest in how myth themes surface and re-surface throughout human history in many varied (but related) guises. I very much enjoy how masks and figurative sculptures are used in disparate cultures to play out everyday dramas that echo age-old narratives.
Craft is an important aspect of my work. I identify strongly with the idea of the artist as a kind of Daedalean hybrid: artist/artisan/shaman. Visual art, like mythology, has the power to compel us with its resonant imagery. It is my hope that my works will, in some small way, enrich the viewer and make her/him see the world as slightly more tragic or laughable (or possibly both at the same time).
The primary aim in my work is to illustrate and analyze concepts that I find enthralling. The resulting objects deal on many levels with formal and conceptual issues. In my work, I hope to show an equal blending of art, craft, and the presentation of engaging ideas in intriguing ways. The works are meant to involve the viewer visually and intellectually.
My sources include mythology, science, history, and American Folk Art (among others). The objects I make reflect the sensibilities of a person steeped in New England practicality who (for better or worse) ended up learning about things like art history, existentialist philosophy, and post-structuralist theory. Many of my sculptures are based on themes from classical mythology viewed through the lens of contemporary events. I have a strong interest in how myth themes surface and re-surface throughout human history in many varied (but related) guises. I very much enjoy how masks and figurative sculptures are used in disparate cultures to play out everyday dramas that echo age-old narratives.
Craft is an important aspect of my work. I identify strongly with the idea of the artist as a kind of Daedalean hybrid: artist/artisan/shaman. Visual art, like mythology, has the power to compel us with its resonant imagery. It is my hope that my works will, in some small way, enrich the viewer and make her/him see the world as slightly more tragic or laughable (or possibly both at the same time).
BIOGRAPHY
I was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Lowell is a city with an incredible industrial past. Growing up there fostered in me a fascination with late-nineteenth century mechanical technology. From an early age, I was enthralled with mechanics, motion, and the wonders born of fertile, no-nonsense Yankee minds.
I am a Professor of Art in the Art and Design Department at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana. I teach 3-D Design, Woodworking, Art Appreciation, Senior Seminar, and First Year Experience. I received my MFA in Sculpture from UMASS Dartmouth.
My work has been shown in over 500 exhibitions in all 50 states as well as internationally. I’ve had
many solo exhibitions and received over 70 awards for my art and teaching. My sculptures are in over
60 private and public collections and images of my work have appeared in Sculpture Magazine
and American Craft, as well as in several books. I have been teaching at the college level since 1999
and I’ve often been asked to present lectures about art to different audiences.
I was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Lowell is a city with an incredible industrial past. Growing up there fostered in me a fascination with late-nineteenth century mechanical technology. From an early age, I was enthralled with mechanics, motion, and the wonders born of fertile, no-nonsense Yankee minds.
I am a Professor of Art in the Art and Design Department at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana. I teach 3-D Design, Woodworking, Art Appreciation, Senior Seminar, and First Year Experience. I received my MFA in Sculpture from UMASS Dartmouth.
My work has been shown in over 500 exhibitions in all 50 states as well as internationally. I’ve had
many solo exhibitions and received over 70 awards for my art and teaching. My sculptures are in over
60 private and public collections and images of my work have appeared in Sculpture Magazine
and American Craft, as well as in several books. I have been teaching at the college level since 1999
and I’ve often been asked to present lectures about art to different audiences.