Biography
"I see my art operating like "feedback loops" between myself and life as a creative journey.”
Overview
Robert M. Hopkins is an American artist, currently living in Beijing, China. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hopkins grew up in Davis, California and received his formal art training in Southern California. In graduate school, his
art focused on "wall constructions" that explored the sculptural terrain between shapes and painting. His M.A. show was comprised of wall constructions and collages, entitled Shifting Fragments.
His M.F.A. show presented Secular Templates, a more industrial approach to wall constructions.
After receiving his M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate University in 1990, he moved to downtown Los Angeles, where he lived and worked before moving to Beijing, China in 2004.
"‘Sparks of chaos’ for some people may actually be ‘sparks of creativity’ for others. For myself, there is no such thing as ‘chaos’— only ‘creative chaos’."
Los Angeles
In downtown Los Angeles, Hopkins pursued a reductive approach to art making, using raw sheets of door skin for floor and wall sculptures, Door Skin Sculptures. He
also experimented with various "process art" approaches, Process-Work Series, before focusing on wall sculptures that utilized rust-stained canvas
stretched over wood-ribbed forms, Rust-Stained Series. Eventually, he incorporated colored fabric into his work, Heterosis Series and
his wood-ribbed forms evolved into twisting loops, inspired by notions of circadian rhythms, Circadian Loops. Arranged in scattered clusters on the
wall, they suggested figurative forms in gymnast-like movement.
"The wider your orbit in life, the wider your understanding of life.”
Beijing
In 2004, Hopkins moved to China, inspired by finding romance in Beijing and discovering a new culture. During an initial period of assimilation, Hopkins produced a series of drawings, entitled Sketchbook Studies. Eventually, his new works on paper, Blind Insights, emerged with a collage approach that integrated his previous explorations of wall sculptures.
Hopkins’s work continues to grow, with an evolving interest in circadian movement and contemplation. In addition to Blind Insights, his current body of work also includes: Inner Navigations (drawings), Cornucopia (watercolors), Syncopations (watercolor collages), Tea Passages (tea-pigment paintings), and more recently, the digital-photography series of Microcosms, Macrocosms and Wallscapes.
RESUME
EDUCATION
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA: M.F.A. Sculpture
California State University, Fullerton, CA: B.F.A. Studio Art ; M.A. Painting
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA: B.A. in English
SELECTED ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
1998 "Calibrations", Renshaw Gallery, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR (Oct. 5 – 30)
"Hybrid Vigor", John N Joe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (May 8 – 30)
1997 "Heterosis", Hello Artichoke Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (Dec. 3 – 31)
1996 "Osmosis", City College Gallery, San Jose City College, CA (Oct. 15 – Nov. 13)
1994 "Vestiges & Constructions", Mendenhall Gallery, Whittier College, CA (Oct. 10-28)
1990 "Secular Templates", West Gallery, Claremont Graduate University, CA
1988 "Shifting Fragments", California State University, Fullerton, CA (April 16-28)
1986 "Inner Stakes", Exit Gallery, California State University, Fullerton, CA (April 21-25)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2004 "Art Auction", Conservatory of Visual Arts, CSULA, Los Angeles, CA (May 1st)
2003 "$200 Show", Andrew-Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Dec.3 – 6)
2002 "The Big Wave IV", Andrew-Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Sept. 13 – Oct. 11)
2001 "lines & signs", Burning Lotus Studios, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 27 – Nov. 17) Curator: Robert M. Hopkins
"Robert Hopkins/ Joshua Elias", ANDLAB Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
(Sept. 29 – Oct. 20)
2000 "sextet: in the key of space", Burning Lotus Studios, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 28 – Nov. 25) Curator: Robert M. Hopkins
1999 "5th Annual Holiday Show", Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (Dec. 4 – Jan. 4, 2000)
"Intimate Images", Thousand Oaks Community Gallery, Thousand Oaks, CA (Dec. 4 – 11)
"Big Wave II", Andrew-Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 3 – Jan. 7, 2000)
"Open Spectrum", APC Fine Arts and Graphics Gallery, Gardena, CA (Nov. 10 – Dec.18)
"Circular Logic", I-5 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Sept. 21 – Oct. 16) Curator: Holly Tempo
"Passageways", Art Gallery, Chemeketa Community College, Salem, OR (Sept. 20 – Oct. 13)
"Ninety-Nine", Miller Durazo Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (June 12 – July 3)
1998 "One Night Stand @ 207", Gallery 207, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 9 – 10)
"Vessels for the Journey", Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA (Sept. 18 – Nov. 1)
"One Night Stand 7", Farmer’s Daughter Hotel, Los Angeles, CA (June 13 - July 3)
"100 Dollar Show & Up", Post, Los Angeles, CA (June 27 - July 25)
"$99.00 Dollar Store Exhibition", Miller Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA (June 13 – July 3)
"Made in California", City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA (March 20 – May 1) Juror: Scott Canty
"Four Dimensions", Cypress College Fine Arts Gallery, Cypress, CA (Feb. 17 – March 17)
"Robert M. Hopkins/ Deborah Zlotsky", Nightingale Gallery, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR (Jan. 17 – Feb. 14)
1997 "2nd Annual Los Angeles National Juried Art Exhibition (Sponsored by Coagula Art Journal) Spanish Kitchen Gallery, Los Angeles,CA(Nov. 14 – Dec. 6) Jurors: Patricia Correia, Llyn Foulkes, Roland Reiss, Michael Salerno, and Mat Gleason
"SITE’s 2nd Annual National Competition", SITE Galley, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 12 – Nov. 7) Juror: Henry T. Hopkins
"Downtown Lives ‘97", DADA Exhibition Space, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 3 – 19)
"The Big Wave", Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca (Sept. 19 – Oct.17)
"In The Neighborhood: Arroyo Arts Collective Juried Exhibition",
Harriet and Charles Luckman Gallery, California State University,
Los Angeles, CA (Aug. 16 – Sept. 24) Jurors: James Doolin and
Noriko Gamblin
"100 Dollar Show", Post, Los Angeles, CA (July 19 – Aug. 9)
"The $99 Store", Miller Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA (June 28 – July 28)
"Unusual Perceptions", Hello Artichoke Galley, Santa Monica, CA
(June 20 – July 16) Juror: Eleana Del Rio; Award: First Prize
"Eye SITE 1997 – Brewery Spring Artwalk", SITE Gallery,
Los Angeles, CA (April 26 – 27)
"Southern California Open Juried Exhibition", Laguna Art Museum,
Laguna Beach, CA (April 12 – June 15) Juror: Henry T. Hopkins
"Made in California", City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA (March 29 –
May 15) Juror: Noel Korten, Award: Honorable Mention
"The 6th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition"; A Traveling Exhibition Organized by The University of Hawaii, Art Gallery:
... University of Hawaii Art Gallery, Honolulu, Hawaii (March 16 – April 18)
... Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, Washington (May 11 – Aug. 24)
... Art Center in Hargate, St. Paul’s School, Concord, NH (Sept. 12 – Oct. 25)
... Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky (Nov. 17 – Dec. 18)
... City of Brea Gallery, Brea, California (Jan. 18 – March 1, 1998)
... Southern Ohio Museum, Portsmouth, Ohio (March 22 – May 3, 1999)
... The Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, Massachusetts (May 1 – July 26, 1998)
... Gaston County Museum, Dallas, North Carolina (Aug. 9 – Sept. 13, 1998) ... Alaska State Museum, Juneau, Alaska, (Oct. 1 – Nov. 8, 1998) ... Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, Alaska (Feb. 6 – March 14, 1999) ... University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska (Feb. 6 – March 14, 1999) ... The Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, Florida (April 6 – May 16, 1999)
... Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama
(June 5 – July 18, 1999)
... East Hawaii Cultural Center, Co-sponsored by Volcano Art Center, Hilo, Hawaii (July 30 – Aug. 28, 1999)
... Isla Center for the Arts, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam, (Sept. 16 – Oct. 22, 1999)
... Maud Arts & Cultural Center, Kahului, HA (Nov. 13 – Dec. 18, 1999)
"The Shooting Gallery, 1997 – Benefit for Harm Reduction Central", Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Hollywood, CA (Feb. 8)
1996 "Fair Art ’96 Presents: Holy Sale", Spanish Kitchen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 15 – 22)
"Old Processes, New Armatures", Pierce College Art Gallery, Woodland Hills, CA (Nov. 11 – Dec. 10) Curator: Joan Kahn
"littlebigart", Mendenhall Art Gallery, Whittier College, Whittier, CA (Oct. 14 – Nov. 29) Curator: Geoffrey Allen
"Downtown Lives ‘96", DADA Exhibition Space, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 4 – 20)
"31st Annual Open Exhibition", San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, CA (Sept. 18 – Oct. 26) Juror: Elizabeth Smith
"100 Dollar Show", Post, Los Angeles, CA (Aug. 2 -31)
"Living With Art", Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (July 13 – Aug. 24) Curator: Young An
"Process and Perception", Full Moon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
(May 23 – June 21)
"Material Witness – Small Mixed Media Works by California Artists", Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA (April 17 – May 11) Curator: Judith Bell
"Action Required", Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA (April 13 – May 12) Curator: Michael Lewis Miller
1995 "act, activate, analyze, ask…", Barnsdall Art Park, Junior Arts
Center Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 3– Jan. 28, 1996)
Curator: Michael Lewis Miller
"Brand XXV: National Juried Competition", Brand Library Art Gallery, Glendale, CA (Dec. 2 – Jan. 9, 1996) Juror: Peter Alexander
"Strictly Sculpture", The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA (Sept. 20 – Oct. 20) Juror: Betye Saar, Award: Honorable Mention
"Three Person Show: Clay Babcock, Robert M. Hopkins & Alyssee Stepanian", Factory Place Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Sept. 10 – Oct. 6)
"1995 Los Angeles Juried Exhibition", Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (July 5 - 22) Jurors: Nancy Doll, Howard Fox and Leonard Simon
"Sculpture: Form and Space", Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA (May 12 – June) Curators: Irit Krygier and Helen Alameda Lewis
1994 "Get Back", Kohn Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 17 – Jan. 7, 1995)
"Downtown Lives "94", DADA Exhibition Space, Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 4 – 20)
"Get Back", West Gallery, Claremont Graduate University, Art Department, Claremont, CA (Oct. 3 – 21)
"FAR Bazzar At The Brewery", Bingo Building, Los Angeles, CA
(May 5 – June 5)
1993 "Downtown Lives!", DADA Exhibition space, Los Angeles, CA
(Dec. 3 – 19)
"CARECEN’s Ninth Annual Art Auction", Every Picture Tells A Story,
Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 21)
"Sculpture", Studio 5 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 20 – Dec. 19)
"Urbanned Hearts", Spanish Kitchen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
(Feb. 5 – March 5)
1992 "F.A.R. Bazzar/L.A. Alternative Art Fair", Old Federal Reserve Building, Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 3 – 20)
"CARECEN’s Eighth Annual Art Auction", Sherry Frumpkin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (Nov. 14)
"SLASH-A Group Show", Empty Spaces Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
(Aug. 8 – Sept. 8)
1991 "CARECEN’s Seventh Annual Art Auction", Richard Green Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (Nov. 8 – 9)
1990 "CARECEN"s Sixth Annual Art Auction", Daniel Saxon Gallery, Los
Angeles, CA (Nov. 9 – 10)
1989 "CARECEN’s Fifth Annual Art Auction", Fred Hoffman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (Nov. 16 – 18)
"Fourth Annual Group Show", Artist Trait Gallery, Ontario, CA (Sept. 7 – Oct. 7)
"Three Person Show: Robert M. Hopkins, Sandra McCarthy, Mark Sparks", Madrona Gallery, San Pedro, CA (May 6 – 27)
"Paint", Art Gallery, Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, CA
(Feb. 21 – March 9)
1988 "On The Edge: Part-Time Faculty Show", West Gallery, California State University, Fullerton, CA (Oct. 3 – 13)
"Fringe of The Fringe Show 11", DA Gallery, Pomona, CA (Sept. 29 – Oct. 8)
"Visual Arts '88", Ettinger Gallery, Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA (July 18 – Aug. 6) Juror: Henry T. Hopkins
1987 "Visual Arts '87", Ettinger Gallery, Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA (July 2 – Aug. 6) Juror:William Otton
1986 "Fourth Annual Prize Competition", Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA (Aug. 22 – Sept. 28) Juror: Will Barnett
"Visual Arts '86" Ettinger Gallery, Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA (Aug. 11 – 30) Juror: Lynda Forsha
"Statue of Liberty Centennial Show", Orlando Gallery, Sherman Oaks, CA (July 11 – 31) Curator: Don Lagerberg
"O.C.V.A. Second Annual Juried Exhibit", Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman College, Orange, CA (July 11 – August 15) Juror: Mark Moore
"Expressions of the Human Figure", Muckenthaler Cultural Center,
Fullerton, CA (April 25 – June 28) Juror: Roland Reiss
SELECTED TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Conservatory of Visual Arts, [L.A. Unified School District's Gifted/Talented Program]: Saturday morning classes on the campus of C.S.U. Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA - Instructor in Introduction to Drawing; Pen and Ink; Figure Drawing; Portraiture; Self-Portraiture; Watercolor; Sumi-e Ink Painting; Independent Projects. (Fall 2000 to Spring 2004)
Santa Monica Community College, Dual Enrollment Program, Santa Monica, CA
- Instructor in Beginning Watercolor; Beginning Drawing; and Beginning Life Drawing at four different High Schools in Los Angeles County. (Fall 1998 to Spring 2003)
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
- Teaching Assistant in Graduate Seminar to Roland Reiss (Spring 1990)
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
- Instructor in Life Drawing (Fall 1988 and Spring 1989)
SELECTED LECTURE EXPERIENCE
1998 Slide Lecturer on my work for advanced Painting students, California State University, Fullerton, CA (February)
Slide Lecturer on my work in conjunction with "The 6th International
Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition", City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA (February)
1997 Guest Lecturer in Beginning Photography class, San Bernardino Valley College, San Bernardino, CA (May)
1996 Gallery Lecturer on my work in group show "Old Processes, New Armatures", Pierce College Art Gallery, Woodland Hills, CA (November)
Slide Lecturer on my work in conjunction with solo show "Osmosis",
San Jose City College, San Jose, CA (October)
Slide Lecturer on my work for Painting students, in conjunction with group show "Material Witness", Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA (April)
1995 Gallery Lecturer on my work in group show "act, activate, analyze, ask…", Barnsdall Art Park, Junior Arts Center Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (January)
1994 Gallery Lecturer on my solo show "Vestiges and Constructions", Mendenhall Art Gallery, Whittier College, Whittier, CA (October)
1993 Slide Lecturer on my work in Advanced Painting class, California State University, Fullerton, CA (November)
1992 Visiting Artist in Architecture Critique class, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA (November)
1991 Guest Lecturer in Life Drawing class, California State University, Fullerton, CA (February)
1990 Slide Lecturer on my work to Senior Art Students, Lakewood High School, Lakewood, CA (November)
1989 Slide Lecturer on my work in conjunction with group show, "Paint", Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, CA (February)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS
1998 - The Korean Central Daily, Los Angeles, May 6, 1998, "Hybrid and Transplant: Robert M. Hopkins and Jason S. Yi at John N Joe Gallery", by Yoo Hue Ahn, Culture, p.1.
- The Event Newspaper, Cypress College, Feb. 27, 1998, "Four Dimensions: Now Open at Cypress College".
- The Observer/Baker City Herald, Oregon, Jan. 30, 1998, "Art Show Has Lots to Offer", by Linda Elliott.
- The Observer/Baker City Herald, Oregon, Jan. 9, 1998, "Show Time: Nationally Recognized Artists Coming to Nightingale", p.5.
- Artweek, Jan. 1998, "Previews: Four Dimensions", by Steve Jenkins, p. 6.
1997 - Catalogue for "Heterosis", Hello Artichoke Gallery, Santa Monica, California, Dec. 3-31.Essay by M.A. Greenstein.
- Catalogue for "The 6th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition",
March 16 - April 18, 1997, The University of Hawaii Art Gallery, Honolulu, HA, p.57.
1996 - San Jose City College Times, Nov. 7, 1996, "Osmosis: Exhibition Stretches Definition Of Art", by Jeff Rehrig, p. 6.
- Catalogue for "Action Required", April 13 – May 12, 1996, Huntington Beach Art Center, Gallery 3, Huntington Beach, California, p. 10.
- L.A. Weekly, Jan. 26 – Feb. 1, 1996, "Art Picks of the Week"
by Peter Frank, p.110.
1995 - Catalogue for "act, activate, analyze, ask…", Dec. 3, 1995 – Jan. 28, 1996, Junior Arts Center Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles, California, p. 2.
- O.C. Weekly, Oct. 20-26, 1995, "Strictly Contemporary: Sculpture as an Artistic Antidote", by Daniella B. Walsh.
1990 - Elan Magazine, Sept. 1990, "Portfolio", p. 24.
HONORS AND AWARDS
1997 -First Prize (Awarded Solo Show in December), "Unusual Perceptions", Hello Artichoke Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
-Honorable Mention, "Made in California", City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA
1995 -Honorable Mention, Strictly Sculpture", The Orange County Center For Contemporary Art (OCCA), Santa Ana, CA
1990 -Elected to Fellowship Committee, Claremont Graduate University
1989 -Recipient of Merit Fellowship, Claremont Graduate University
