•untitled II [2003]

Biographical Information::
Robert Craig is an associate professor of art and chairman of The Department of Art and Design. He received his MFA from Florida State University in 1988 and a BA from Eastern Illinois University in 1986. Since 1999, Robert’s work has primarily focused on large-scale sculpture for public settings and his commissions include the City of Cedar Falls and Grinnell College. His work is in collections including the Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls, IA, Nautilus Foundation, Lloyd, FL and Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA. Robert has participated in over 60 regional and national exhibitions and his work is currently on loan to the Northshore Sculpture Park in Skokie, IL, Future Heritage, Topeka, KS and to the Village of Algonquin, IL. He is represented by Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa.

Statement::
A series of large-scale fabricated steel sculptures titled “Skeuomorphic Works” represents my most recent work and current creative direction. I have completed five sculptures in this series. Their form is partially derived through the consideration of utilitarian objects. I am drawn both to common and to obscure objects from a modernist appreciation of form. My interest is sustained by my awareness that these objects were designed for hand use as well as by my recognition that they are artifacts of a time when technology was still largely dependent on manual processes. The objects’ shape, part-to-part functional relationship, age and wear become points of interpretation and abstraction. I further consider the objects’ form, function, and history through drawing and model building: these activities refine my sculptural ideas and help define the specific range of associations and representations the sculpture will elicit. Color is a critical element in this series and the colors were chosen to be as suggestive as the structure itself. The series continues to evolve from Untitled I, II, III where recognition to known things were retained in their composite form to daredevil and manila that transcend recognition and lead to ideas of function and action.

Selected Exhibitions::
•“Third Annual Public Art Program”, Village of Algonquin, IL 2007
•“Sculpture Exhibition”, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, IA 2007
•“Beyond Boundaries”, Invitational Sculpture Exhibition, City of Chicago’s Artist Month, 2006
•“Biennial Sculpture Invitational”, Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI 2006
•“Small Works Exhibition”, Upstream Gallery, Dobbs Ferry, NY 2006
•"Ninth Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition," Washburn University, Topeka, KS 2005
•"The 18th Annual Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition and Competition," Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 2004
•“Navy Pier Walk 2003”, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL