Robin Esser

High Rise

Porcelain, cone 10 

5¾ x 3½ inches

More Info:

High Rise Demise correlates well with the theme of the show because it is has a whimsical dreamlike quality. The image of the window frames flying off the building, askew, could have been conjured up in nightmare. High Rise Demise is a humorous and whimsical metaphor for the deterioration of the 'American Dream'. It is commenting on the growing income inequality between the top 1% and the remaining 99%. I have always been fascinated by windows or window frames blowing in the wind, depicted in perspective, ever since I first saw the Matisse painting Les Codomas" (1947). Voltaire's writings which remain barely attached to the high rise, and could be blown away at any moment represent the Enlightenment and its precarious position is a metaphor for the abandonment of humanitarian prinic

Bio:

Most of my life was spent as a super-science person. I earned a Ph.D. in Cardiac Electrophysiology (Membrane Biophysics) and was on the faculty of Columbia Medical School. I taught high school advanced sciences for thirty years, as well working in staff development for the NYC public schools. I have been the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, grants, and honors in both the fields of scientific research and education. In September 2022 I first starting working with clay and have taken courses at the Clay Art Center for the last four years, mainly with Jon Townley. As a member of the Hudson River Potters I am honored to have sold some of my ceramic sculptural pieces and to have been commissioned to fabricate pieces.I was one of the artists in the 2025-2026 Stephen Hill Journeys Workshop held at the Alison Palmer Studios in Kent, CT and will have a piece in the Stephen Hill Journeys Workshop Retrospective exhibit to be held in March 2027 in Baltimore, coinciding with next year’s NCECA. I have been actively writing autobiographical fiction, as well as other genres, since 2015. For example, a three hundred page long semi-fictional manuscript details the first eight years of my life. Originally from NYC, I have lived since 1989 in Brewster, New York. I have been a lifelong advocate for the environment and social justice.

Statement:

My art work examines the dialectic, or contradiction, in ‘Civilization” and ‘the hand of man’ on Earth’s inherently harmonious relationships. I use abstract expressionist techniques, texture, sheen, and color, in combination with subtle incongruent or discrepant isolated ‘events’, to comment on the path that our economic & social system is presently pursuing, with respect to Earth’s environment, and the species dependent on it. My interest in Chaos Theory underlies all my compositions, by injecting discrepant events into what otherwise would be harmonious forms. My ceramic work is influenced by Noguchi, in that it explores glossy vs matte and rough vs smooth, in angular abstract compositions. On seeing Toshiko Takaezu’s work, I realized that my expressionist application of glazes is similar. I also work on canvas, creating collages, containing found objects, which are tromp l’oeil abstracted simultaneous landscapes and topography. My artwork owes some of its original inspiration to Australian Aboriginal Dream Time art, since it depicts an abstracted topographical perspective. I have also painted realistic portraits on canvas, which depict aspects of the person's life.