Robert Bailey
Helena, MT
Exhibit Year: 2023-2024
About the Artist
Robert Bailey is a sculptor deeply rooted in the tangible world of everyday objects, using them as a lens to explore intricate narratives about the shared existence of all living beings. Growing up in Wichita, KS amidst the Midwest punk scene and surrounded by loud music, hot rods, and horror films, his aesthetic has evolved to be dark, stoic, uncanny and often ironic. Robert has earned his BFA in Printmaking and MFA in Sculpture from Wichita State University. Robert’s process is deeply entrenched in studio time, incorporating carpentry and metal fabrication, all underpinned by a DIY ethos inherited from his parents. In addition to instilling me with technical skills, their love for antiques and historic renovations instilled in me a profound appreciation for older aesthetics and the labor of creation.
As an adjunct professor, Robert has taught various 3-D Design and Sculpture courses at Wichita State University. Additionally, for over two years Robert was the Site Preparator for the Gallery Place Project, an endeavor of outdoor art galleries and placemaking projects organized by Harvester Arts in Wichita, KS. Currently residing in Helena, Robert is the Teaching Artist for the Art Mobile of Montana and is looking forward to exploring and meeting people throughout the state. Outside of artistic endeavors, Robert can often be found drinking dark coffee and playing folk music on his mandolin.
Artist Statement
As a Post-Industrial Folk Artist, I construct immersive sculptural environments and tableaus from discarded relics of bygone eras into monumental and sacred places for contemplation and debate. By elevating mundane objects into thoughtful meditations on the cyclical nature of societies I aim to surface poignant narratives about the rapid pace of modernization and its effects on communities and ways of life, specifically relating to our current ecological crises and the implications of global capitalism and labor movements.
Within my work, the use of obsolete and discarded objects reference their former sacredness within past societal functions, while narrating a tale of their abandonment in our current post-industrial world. As folk art is often created with available materials and vernacular processes rooted in cultural traditions, my work carries on this spirit by giving new life and meaning to the relics of fading industries and technologies.