Biographical statement
Robert Roesch was born in New York State, lives in Pennsylvania, and works in a studio in the New Jersey Pinelands. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY and the State University of New York. Roesch is Chair of Sculpture at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and a member of the Philadelphia Art Commission. He has received 12 grants, including 2 Fulbright Specialist Awards. His work is in museum collections Internationally. He has completed 20 major public art projects including the Gateway to the City of Wichita Kansas and a major work for the Government of China. Roesch will be returning to China this fall to build another sculpture in the city of Jiande, RAINWALL. He was the Cultural Advisor to US Embassies in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Ecuador, and Myanmar. Roesch was an invited artist in the 2007 and 2009 Biennials in Egypt, and with his partner Suzanne Horvitz, represented USA in the 2009 Baku Biennial. He lectured throughout Japan in 2006-07, and was the guest of the Chinese Government and the Academy of Fine Arts in Hang Zhou, China in 2008.
Critic Burton Wasserman, in his February, 2010 article in Icon Magazine, (pg 11) calls Roesch, "A seasoned master of a style best described as the abstract sublime…. To feel the vitality of his awesome artistic geometry is to identify with mighty presences at work in the universe at large. Joined together with a touch of virtuosity, they open existential realms of perception, amplifying rare metaphysical states of dynamic expansion. They are realities able to plumb the core of one’s innermost sense of contact to the past, the present and the future. In their own terms, they embody a profound sense of poetry. "
SELECTED PUBLIC COMMISSIONS:
2010- “RAINWALL” Public Art Project in Jiande China Awarded by the Government of China.
2009 - SHORT LIST FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCULPTURE AT SAN JUAN COLLEGE NM
2010 – "TAKEFLIGHT” Public Art Project in Norwich CT. Awarded by the State of CT.
Installation: April 2009
2008- "TRANSDUCTION CHINA " Awarded by the Government of China.
Installation: October, 2008 as a permanent feature in Hangzhou China’s West Lake area.
2003 – "MOMENTUM" Texas A & M, Corpus Christi, Sculptured Entrance to the University
4 acres. 280 feet by 46 feet h
Part of the sculpture’s design has become the logo for the Texas A&M Corpus Christi campus
Reference: Dr. Trent Hill VP Texas A&M 361 825 6005
2002 – "PEACOCK LIGHT RAIL SHELTERS" Horvitz / Roesch Collaboration Awarded by the South Eastern PA Transportation Authority.
2 shelters of Stainless steel & Bronze. They stand at the entrance of the Philadelphia Zoo.
Reference: Marsha Moss 215 925 3384
2002 – "ALCHEMY” FL Atlantic University – three 16-foot stainless steel and corten spires- at the entrance to the Education Building.
Awarded by the State of FL,
Reference: Patty Singer, 561 297 0164
1998 - "MOONHARP REFLECTING POOL" A sculptured water environment 13 x 60 x 40 feet.
Awarded by General Instruments Corp, Horsham, PA.
1999 - "ORION PROJECT”, Awarded by the state of NC, a hillside work of lighted pyramids identifying the major stars in the constellation Orion, marking the entrance to the Science and astronomy Complex, NC State Arts,
1997 – "WIND SPIRIT GATEWAY" The Gateway to The City of Wichita KS -ten 16 ft lighted stainless steel spires with two 20 ft. stepped limestone berms, topped by two 18 ft. stainless steel shapes. Awarded by the City of Wichita.
Director of Public Art, John D’Angelo: 316.337.9040
1997 - "WATER-WALL" Brass & Steel, 22ft/16ft/4ft, Beth Israel Medical Center, NYC
1994 - "CATALYST” 13 ft. 12ft x 10 ft. x 80 ft., Tensile supported stainless steel, lighted corten steel & landscaped areas of wildflowers and river rock .
Computer associates, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Other sited commissioned works Include:
Wave: Atlantic Gallman Group, Longport, NJ
Untitled. South Walnut Plaza, Wilmington, DE,
Softly Spoken Words, Sanborn Square Park, Boca Raton, FL,
Wave: Lynmark Group, Suffern, NY,
Untitled, State University of NY, Farmingdale, NY
SELECTED CORPORATE AND MUSEUM PURCHASES:
GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE New Jersey
PAPER MUSEUM Tokyo, Japan,
KYOTO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM Kyoto, Japan
BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA MUSEUM Alexandria, Egypt
NOVELTY Philadelphia, Pa.
BENEFICIAL Wilmington, DE
RCA VICTOR New York, NY
USIA Arts America Washington, DC
A R A TOWER Philadelphia, PA
BANTAM DOUBLEDAY DELL New York, NY
FIDELITY BANK Philadelphia, PA
MARINE MIDLAND BANK New York, NY
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Coral Gables, FL
McALLEN INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM McAllen Texas
(Horvitz / Roesch collaboration)
GLASMUSEUM EBELTOFT Denmark
(Horvitz / Roesch collaboration)
WICHITA MUSEUM OF ART Wichita, KS
RHONE-POULENC RORER INC. Collegeville, PA.
WESTLAKES TRAMMEL CROW CO. Tredyffrin, PA
SELECTED ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS:
2010 - NOYES MUSEUM Smithville, NJ
2010- Sande Webster Gallery Philadelphia Pa.
2009- Baku Biennial Azerbaijan
2008- Sande Webster Gallery Philadelphia, Pa.
2007- Tera Gallery Kyoto, Japan
2007- City Arts Wichita KS
2006- Sande Webster Gallery Philadelphia, Pa.
2002 - Moon Gallery, Rome, GA
2000-2001 -American Cultural Center Gallery Alexandria, Egypt
1999 - Le Pont Gallery, Aleppo, Syria
1999 - Gallery Amar Latakia Syria, May
1999- Sande Webster Gallery Philadelphia, Pa.
GRANTS AND AWARDS:
2009 Independence foundation grant
Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant to Baku, Azerbaijan
2006 Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant - On the Roster until 2011
Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan in 2006.
2001 Cultural Specialist grant U. S. Information Agency to Alexandria, Egypt
2000 ACULSPEC Grant, USIA 1 month travel to Damascus and Aleppo, Syria
1998 Cultural Specialist grant U. S. Information Agency to Cairo, Egypt
1997 Cultural Specialist grant from U. S. Information Agency for travel to Damascus, Syria 3.12.1997 / 3.27.1997
1996 Ford Foundation Grant through the PA Academy of the Fine Arts
1996 Cultural Specialist grant U. S. I A for travel Ecuador and Argentina
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Philadelphia Fine Art Commission, Appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter 2008
PA Academy of the Fine Arts, Professor of Fine Arts from 1983 to present
Chair of Sculpture past 4 years
Cultural Advisor to the US Embassy, Burma, Ecuador, Argentina, Egypt, Syria & Azerbaijan.
Parsons School of Design, NY, NY Instructor of design (4 years)
State University of NY, Farmingdale, NY. Assistant professor (2 years)
Southampton College -Long Island University, NY. Assistant professor (11 years)
FORMAL STUDY:
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY - School of Fine Arts BFA
State University of New York, Farmingdale, NY School of Art and Design BA
GALLERY AFFILIATION:
Joanne Nerlino Associates, New York, NY
Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa
HOME: 2310 PEROT STREET PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA 19130
STUDIO: 128 BATCHELOR LANE HAMMONTON NEW JERSEY 08037
www.robertroesch.com robert@robertroesch.com