PRESENTATIONS:
1 Why is Art so important in the 21st century?
2 Influences of the automobile on Europe and the USA
BIOGRAPHY
Robert Erskine is an English sculptor, designer and broadcaster known for creating award winning public monumental sculptures.
Completing post-graduate studies in sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art, London, under Professor Reg Butler, world renowned sculptor and recipient of the 1955 International Unknown Political Prisoner competition, Robert Erskine continued to work from studios in London until 2014. He currently lives and works in Suffolk and is a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.
Robert describes his passion for engineering, industry and nature as main influences informing his work. Rare amongst contemporaries, he describes the hands-on process as essential to developing ideas and as such fabricates and casts his own work. He has created one-off sculptures and landmark elements for commercial, public and regeneration schemes. His landmark sculptures have been awarded status of permanent public monuments by The Public Monuments Sculpture Association and The Courtauld Institute, for contributing to the heritage and culture of the nation. His work is held in public and private collections worldwide. He is a visiting lecturer in the UK and overseas.
Robert's design work in areas of product, industrial and architectural design include several patents, and he has worked with public, private and commercial clients. He was senior project designer working on the Sultan of Brunei’s Palace, the world’s largest palace, and he has been a design consultant for Marks & Spencer, making history, as Marks & Spencer requested his signature on his product design.
Since the early 1990s, in addition to his work as a sculptor, Robert has been a motoring broadcaster and contributor on the American weekly live radio show 'Autolab'. His hybrid background in sculpture, design and engineering, and passion for cars, brings particular focus to design, technology innovation and education. His reporting has championed design firsts and his relaxed style, together with automotive mechanical and design experience, have given a platform to many of the motoring industry's key figures to discuss their work. Robert is passionate in imparting his experience on making monumental sculpture, his contribution to international design projects, and his passion for all things automotive, especially advances in current and future automotive design and technology.