Robert L Wood

Exploring the relationships and connections between content, aesthetics, form and material, I seek to reveal the emotive power, mystery and felt experience that exists within this context. Referencing history, identity, technology, and how technology examines and records evidence of identity, of self, I often include fragments as bits of informatio... n to be mined for potential clues to identify its origins; to provide content and context; yet at the same time maintain the mystery and intrigue of incompleteness. The articulation of these ideas evolve as I use clay in combination with glass and other mixed media elements. Glass provides depth, transparency and translucency, reflective and refractive qualities, and how light reveals that which is internal. In contrast, clay represents opaqueness, solidity, and mass; it captures and responds to how it was formed and manipulated, recording its history. Utilizing the contrasting aesthetic nature of these materials allows the opportunity to examine and explore, to exploit their properties to reveal content and expression. Robert L. Wood is Professor of Design and Coordinator of the Ceramics program at Buffalo State, State University of New York where he has been teaching for the past 30 years. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from Indiana State University and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dallas. Participating in over 200 juried and invitational art exhibitions at the international, national and regional levels, his work has received twelve national awards. His clay and mixed media sculptures have been included in numerous publications including 500 Ceramic Sculptures, The Spirit of Ceramic Design, Surface Design for Ceramics, 500 Plates and Chargers, The Ceramic Glaze Handbook, Making Ceramic Sculpture, The Ceramic Design Book, 500 Teapots, The Best of Pottery I (and II), Electric Kiln Ceramics, Ceramics: Mastering the Craft; Ceramics Monthly; American Craft; Studio Potter and over 90 exhibition catalogs. He has been listed in Whos ...Read More