|
|
| |
| Artist Statement: |
Sculpture to me, best depicts forms or themes of the natural world. If the stone talks to me, we’re friends, and the relationship begins. I prefer creating representational pieces that portray the human figure and other living things, and I also like to experiment with abstraction on occasion. There is nothing like pounding on a piece of stone until a new life is revealed, pushing the limits… be it granite or alabaster… bring it on!
|
| |
| Biographic Information: |
Francis Robin is a native of Southern France, born among the Pyrenees Mountains, vested with passion for creative expression and respect for the art in all things. During his teenage apprenticeship at a granite quarry, Frank gained his first rock carving experience making tombstones. One day while on a lunch break, he was given a piece of Carrara marble, which inspired many visits to Italy where specialized skills of stone carving were acquired.
After visiting his cousin in New York, Monsieur Robin decided to immigrate to the United States in 1963 for economic opportunity absent in his homeland. He found a job at the Plaza Hotel decorating the banquet rooms and creating ice sculptures inside the freezer. Seeking a warmer climate, he moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to work as a set dresser in the motion picture industry. Limited space, limited time, and the responsibility of raising a family prevented working on stone pieces, yet Frank kept his fingers busy working with clay, making molds, developing patinas, and welding. His mind now contained a backlog of pieces to execute, so the desire to work with stone intensified.
Without extra money to buy quality stones, Frank ventured into the deserts of Southern California looking for viable rocks, hauled out a four-hundred pound chunk of Verde Antique marble, and hasn’t stopped carving since 1996. His dedication is marked by consistent pursuit of artistic knowledge, engaging regularly in workshops and symposiums up and down the West Coast.
Frank is a member of the Pasadena Society Of Artist, the Pasadena Lapidary Society, the Culver City Rock & Mineral Club, The California Federation of Mineralogical Societies, and has received awards in recognition of his fine creations. Select sculptures are currently on exhibition at ArtScape Gallery in Pasadena California. |
| |
| Exhibitions: |
Pasadena Society of Artists
2008 ArtScapE Gallery Premiere Exhibition, Pasadena CA
2008 82nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Brand Library, Glendale CA
2008 California Sculptors Symposium, Cambria CA
2008 Teale Street Sculpture Studio, Culver City CA
2007 Burbank Creative Arts Center, Burbank CA
2007 California Sculptors Symposium, Cambria CA
2006 Beverly Hills Art Walk, Beverly Hills CA
2005 Pasadena Lapidiary Society, Pasadena CA
2003 California Sculptors Symposium, Cambria CA
2003 Culver City Rock and Gem Club, Culver City CA |
| |
| Awards: |
2008 Honorable Mention, California Sculptors Symposium, Camp Ocean Pines, Cambria CA
2007 Honorable Mention, California Sculptors Symposium, Camp Ocean Pines, Cambria CA
2003 First Place In Stone, California Sculptors Symposium, Camp Ocean Pines, Cambria CA |
| |
| Organizations: |
2005 Pasadena Society Of Artists - PSA
2002 Pasadena Lapidary Society
2004 Culver City Rock & Mineral Club
2001 The California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) |
| |
| Collections & Museums: |
| |
| Symposiums: |
Teale Street Sculpture Studio, Robert Cunningham Workshops, Culver City CA
Annual International Carving Symposium, Camp Brotherhood WA
Annual Thetis Island Stone Sculptors Symposium, Vancouver, Canada
Arco Arte Sculpture Studio, Master Butros, Carrara, Tuscany, Italy
Annual Silver Falls Stone Carving Symposium, Silver Falls State Park, OR
Annual California Sculptors Symposium, Camp Ocean Pines, Cambria CA
Marble Institute of Colorado, Marble Sculpting Symposium, Marble CO |
| |
| PSA Contributions: |
| Membership: NOV 2005 |
| Committee: |
|
