 Portfolio of
Robert Cantor
Interview with Artist
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Theme and Variation
Artist Statement
“My work always begins with the human figure and face. I create figures, often stylized, in the hope that through movement, kinetic tension, the exaggeration of form, or the sheer beauty of line, some thoughtful and heartfelt aspect of human experience will be revealed. For me, the most moving of all sculptural forms are those that capture the psychological ambiguities, conflicts, emotions, and hidden meanings of everyday life.
Some of the galleries have more specialized themes. In "The Human Comedy" gallery, I’ve tried to capture a distorted, cartoon-like, humorous, but always faithful depiction of human character, experience, and relationship; as in a dream when someone appears strange but recognizable, usually because some essence or private obsession is exposed.
In the "Conjunction Series", I have sculpted a bronze figure and then carved in stone an abstract form that serves as it's base and also is a reflection of the quality of the figure it supports.
The "Anatomy of Melancholy" series consists of ten pieces that portray the reflective nature of this familiar bittersweet experience. They start with the figurative, become more stylized in nature, and finally evolve into more abstract forms.
The "Theme and Variation" series takes the evolution idea a step further by having the evolution of form take place in the same sculpture, including playing with images from Picasso, Matisse, Brancusi, Giacometti, Botero, and Maillol.
The "Geography of Descent" series is conceptual - the idea is that as we mature, we all develop something called a persona, or the face we present to the world—a kind of façade we use for self-protection—and only a part of who we are. But consider all the other feelings, conflicts and less desirable impulses that are not represented. In this series of sculptures, the ongoing strain of maintaining such a façade is beginning to slip and crack, and each figure is reacting to the loss—or the descent—in a different way.
The latest series is just being created and is devoted to pieces inspired by Picasso's drawings - mostly studies for paintings and sculptures he planned to do. Each drawing is used as a visual idea from which to start - and then the piece takes on a life of it's own. These are all unfinished and in process.
In making all of these sculpted forms, my desire is to arouse something visceral; to comfort, to induce a chuckle, to invite reflection, and on occasion, to startle, to make the hairs stand up on your neck.”
Biography
Bob Cantor has been a clinical psychologist in San Francisco since 1973. He was an Associate Professor on the full-time faculty of the University of California, San Francisco for ten years and has been in private practice for over twenty-five years. He has also published two books: "And A Time To Live" (1980, Harper and Row, nominated and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) and a novel, "Of Struggle and Flight" (1990, Little Viking).
Art and sculpture have been a life long passion. He has studied with Alan Kaprow (Rutgers University), Mogens Moller (Royal College of Copenhagen), Jesus Mendes (Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende), and Jack Kreutzer (Loveland, Colorado).
At present, his work is on permanent display at the ACCI Gallery in Berkeley, California and the Zeta Gallery in Lafayette, California. His prize-winning sculpture has been collected throughout the United Satates; featured in the 2005 Spring issue of "Direct Art Magazine", and awarded a coveted place in 2006's "Best Artists of California".
Resumè
May 1999 Artisans Gallery
Mill Valley, California
Featured Artist
August 2001 Artisans Gallery
Mill Valley, California
Merit Award, Juried Group Show
September 2001 Artisans Gallery
Mill Valley, California
Sculpture Prize, National Juried Exhibit
January 2003 Artisans Gallery
Mill Valley, California
Featured Artist, Humor and Art Show
May 2003 Rebecca Bruce L'Atelier
Mill Valley, California
Solo Exhibit
September 2003 Artisans Gallery
Mill Valley, California
Merit Award, National Juried Exhibit
October 2003 Alameda Art Center
Alameda, California
Merit Award, Juried Show
August 2004 Alameda Art Center
Alameda, California
Group Show
June 2004 142 Throckmorton Theater
Mill Valley, California
Two Person Exhibit
August 2004 Alameda Art Center
Alameda, California
Featured Artist, Juried Show
October 2004 Artisans Gallery
Mill Valley, California
Group Show
December 2004 di Rossa Preserve Gallery
Napa, California
Juried Exhibit
January 2005 Alameda Art Center Alameda, Group Show
Spring 2005 Direct Art Magazine, Vol. 11
Slow Art, New York, New York
Half Page Award, National Juried Competition
February 2005 Alameda Art Center
Alameda, California
Group Juried Show
June 2005 Artisans Gallery
San Rafael, California
Group Sculpture Show
December 2005 ACCI Gallery
Berkeley, California
Christmas Show
February 2006 Artisans Gallery
San Rafeal, California
Juried Show
May 2006 ACCI Gallery
Berkeley, California
Featured Artist
Fall 2006 Best Artists of California
featured artist, sculpture
March 2007 ACCI Gallery
"SOMEBODY"
Berkeley, California
Featured Artist
March 2008 ACCI Gallery
"In The Round"
Berkeley, California
Featured Artist
October, 2008 Zeta Gallery
Lafayette, California
Featured Artist
February 2009 ACCI Gallery
Mixed Media Exhibit
Berkeley, California
Featured Artist
March 2009 Plaza Arts Gallery
"Chiselers" Sculpture Show
Healdsburg, California
Merit Award for "Body of Work"
March 2010 ACCI Gallery
"Swagger: A Celebration of the Body"
Berkeley, California
Featured Artist
Shows
November-December, 2011 - 888 Gallery
Group Show
San Rafeal, California
Featured Artist
Galleries
ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, Calif.
Zeta Gallery, Lafayette, Calif.
Plaza Arts Gallery, Healdsburg, California
888 Gallery, San Rafeal, California
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