BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Art in motion since childhood has been at the center of Robin Cohen's career with her love for dance and nature. She now fashions those two passions into stone to express the beauty she sees that she has always wanted to share with others. Having been a professional dancer, painter and sketch artist, Robin now dedicates her skills toward carving those subtle dances of nature into forms frozen in time from her own life experiences. As a mother of two beautiful daughters, who, like nature reflect its grace; she remembers the beautiful places in her own childhood living in the San Fernando Valley during her high school and college years honing her skills.

Tutored by the master sculptor Michele Chapin of Ventura, Robin's talent for carving showed immediately by her selling her very first piece of work when it was barely finished.
Since then, Robin's art has been recognized by such organizations as the Pasadena Society of Artists, which she joined last year and the curators of the Burbank Fine Arts Center Gallery, where she was invited to do a one-person show. She opted instead to invite a fellow sculptor, Victor Picou and photographer, Bruce Burr and showed "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" in August 2008. She will be receiving credit for her work on the movie, "The Effect", which was filmed early 2009 and her sculpture was included in Roberta Martin's suite at the Pasadena Showcase House from April 19 - May 17, 2009. Robin's work can be viewed at The Hive Gallery, in downtown L.A., The Majestical Roof, in Pasadena.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Variety truly is the spice of life. I am excited to try almost anything as far as expressing in the visual arts although stone has a life and quality that is closest to my heart. Having veered into other directions as a young adult, coming back to creating art has been the most fulfilling experience and I plan to continue for as long as I live.

In these times of economic hardship and disconnection, there is even more opportunity for the artist within to take a risk and reach into our hearts and minds and put forth what we find there. When we as artists have our say, whether with beauty and harmony, or dissent and shock, we act as a beacon to those who stand back from themselves, shrinking from their own power to express, to be, to empower.

All of my life, I have responded to the need to create. I grasped pencil and paper at every moment I could as a child. As an young adult, I took dance classes and fell in love with the physical expression of the movement I have always seen everywhere. I was able to make a living dancing for a while and then returned to my first love, the visual arts. The discovery of stone work is what truly awakened my passion and there is nothing like the feel of working in stone to compare with any medium I've handled. I have such a connection with it that even the feel of the dust brings a bit of happiness.

Working in stone brings its own meditation and discovery. I love how there is no way to know how the piece will look until it's done. Although I appreciate texturing, I always polish my pieces to bring out the natural patterns and beauty that are hidden within. I love sanding it to smoothness to make a "skin" that invites viewers to touch and take enjoyment in following the winding curves and movement of my carving.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Partial List:
Glendale Open Studio Tour 2010, Brand Library July 17- August 13
May 2010, Mother's Day Show, Towns-Burr Gallery
March 2010 Burbank Fine Arts Federation, Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery
December 2009-January 2010 Pasadena Society of Artists People's Choice Awards Show, Citibank Gallery, Silverlake, CA
September 2009 Angeles Crest Artists Guild Show, McGroarty Arts Center
August 2008, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" 3 person show with Victor Picou and Bruce Burr, Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery

AWARDS & HONORS

AFFILIATIONS

Angeles Crest Artists Guild
Burbank Fine Arts Federation
Pasadena Society of Artists

COLLECTIONS
Norm Levy and Phyllis Cohen, Janet Brandenburg

EDUCATION: UCLA, Pasadena City College, extension classes at the Animation Union, studied with Michele Chapin, noted sculptor in Ventura, CA