Robert Chambers (sculptor)

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Robert Chambers
Born
Robert Lucas Chambers

1958 (age 65–66)
OccupationSculptor
Employers
Known forInstallations, experimentation
SpouseMette Tommerup
Chambers' sculpture "Sugabus" (2004)

Robert Lucas Chambers (born 1958) is an American sculptor from Miami, Florida.[1] His most recent public artwork is the South Miami Dade Art and Cultural Center. 'Light Field' and 'Adze' and 'Celt'.

Background and education[edit]

He received a BFA from University of Miami in 1983 and an MA from New York University in 1990. He returned later to teach at University of Miami and New York University.[2] and is married to Danish-born painter Mette Tommerup.[3]

Collections[edit]

His sculptures appear in the permanent collections of the Kemper Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Miami Art Museum.[1] The son of an artist mother and a molecular scientist father, Chambers often includes scientific motifs in his sculptures.[4] He describes his work as having "a sense of experimental playfulness. The rigidity of science, chemistry and physics is broken by a desire to re-contextualize empirical research thru a sculptor's vantage point. He is represented by Emerson Dorsch Gallery in Miami. "[5] Chambers has also used debris from Florida hurricanes in his work.[6]

Chambers' 2004 sculpture "Sugabus", 45 globes of bronze representing the elements of a sucrose molecule in the shape of a poodle, appears at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri. The work's title is a portmanteau of "sugar" and Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the underworld in ancient Greek mythology.[1] The sculpture is 14 ft × 12 ft × 12 ft (4.3 m × 3.7 m × 3.7 m) and weights 6 short tons (5.4 t).[7]

Art Basel Miami[edit]

During Art Basel Miami in November 2007, Chambers installed a sculpture titled "Rotorelief" on roof of the Sagamore Hotel. The sculpture consisted of a working helicopter, the blades of which had been replaced by hypnotic discs.[8]

Bakehouse Art Complex[edit]

During the fall of 2018, Chambers was involved with a special hay installation at Bakehouse Art Complex, which involved creating a social area with bales of hay for an art event. He worked with a class from Florida International University to bring the project to fruition.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Sugabus, 2004". Laumeier Sculpture Park. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  2. ^ "Robert Chambers Bio". robertchambers.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Amei Wallach (September 16, 2001). "In Miami, a Hot Spot of Art, the Temperature's Rising". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  4. ^ "Robert Chambers: Aesthetics & Values at the Frost Museum". Miami Art Guide. June 12, 2012. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  5. ^ Robert Chambers. "Artist Statement". robertchambers.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "Artists Turn Hurricane Trash Into Art Treasure". USA Today. Associated Press. May 1, 2006. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  7. ^ Robert Chambers. "Sugabus". robertchambers.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  8. ^ "Experience visual overload in Miami". NBC News. Associated Press. November 8, 1997. Retrieved August 14, 2012.