About the ArtistsRob de MarBrooklyn-based sculptor Rob de Mar holds a BFA from New York's School of Visual Arts, and has been an artist-in-residence at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture as well as the Vermont Studio Center. In addition to his work as a professional artist, he is a set dresser for movies and television commercials. He has created furniture, gates, and various settings for such movies as the Royal Tenenbaums starring Ben Stiller and Gene Hackman, and Birth, starring Nicole Kidman. He is currently represented by the Clementine Gallery, New York City. Rob's work has been in solo and group exhibitions in such galleries and museums as: White Columns, New York City; PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris, New York City; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine; Wave Hill Glyndor Gallery, Bronx, New York; Nylon Gallery, London, England; Inman Gallery, Houston, Texas; Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut; and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Victoria PalermoVictoria Palermo, a sculptor residing in Queensbury, New York, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Art from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Skidmore College and previously was a scenic painter and art department director for Adirondack Scenic, Inc., in Glens Falls, New York. Victoria has been awarded artist fellowship grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, and was an artist-in-residence at YADDO in Saratoga Springs, New York. Her work has been in solo and group shows in such galleries and museums as: The Arts Center at Troy, New York; Pierogi 2000, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; ART/OMI Sculpture Park, Ghent, New York; Galerie Du Tableau, Marseilles, France; One Mellon Bank Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, New York; Rice Gallery, Albany, New York; White Columns, New York City; and Art In General, New York City. Nature ParkOctober 2, 2003 - February 1, 2004
Earth, Wind, and Desire: Nature Park has transformed the Kidspace gallery into an indoor “nature park” An Astroturf path winds through the gallery, gently leading you through an exhibit of sculpture by Victoria Palermo and Rob de Mar. Both artists use nature as the inspiration for their art making, and are especially interested in how the natural environment is effected by human intervention. Victoria Palermo surprises us in her choice of medium. She transforms natural materials such as grass and moss into whimsical chairs and abstract sculpture. At the same time, she also makes use of a manufactured material—rubber—to create forests of colorful birch trees. The contrast in Palermo’s choice of materials and subject matter encourages viewers to think about dualities that exist in natural and human-made surroundings. The exhibition includes three grass chairs, seventeen colorful rubber birch trees and twelve abstract moss sculptures. Rob de Mar presents us with two types of fanciful environments. In some of his 3-D landscapes, he seamlessly integrates roads and cell phone towers with rolling hills and lush forests. In others, he creates natural ecosystems that have not yet been intruded upon by humans. We might encounter a green hilly mountainside pierced by a stark, seemingly endless black top road. Or we might find futuristic lush green landscapes with bulbous hills and fluffy white clouds that grow strangely from metal poles. The exhibition features two wall landscapes and four standing pieces. Earth, Wind, and Desire: Nature Park was organized by Laura Thompson, Megan Hack, and Barbara Robertson with Victoria Palermo and Rob de Mar. Special thanks to Williams College staff including Henry Art, Drew Jones, Jennifer Swoap, and Steve Zottoli; Elizabeth Burke and Clementine Gallery, New York City; and the MASS MoCA staff. |