About the Work

At first glance, these artworks defy a clear medium and process. They appear to be embroidered or woven, made of mosaic, painted, or sewn. The colors are rich and the forms are attractive. They are “beautiful”. The viewer is inclined to step very close to examine the surface. The subject matter then becomes viscerally apparent. A paragraph of text accompanies each piece, which retells the horrific act of violence and terror that the artwork memorializes. Each piece is an example of how people will behave under set conditions. Many of these particular pieces refer to lesser-known Holocaust crimes. Much of the string that is used is vintage and originated in Europe. Each piece is composed of thousands of tiny cut pieces of string that have been pressed into a bed of wax that has been brushed onto cut plywood. Each work takes between 4 and 6 months to create.

Biography

Robin L. Bernstein was born in St Louis, Missouri into a distinctly non-artistic family. Luckily, music was played and encouraged which lay the groundwork for creative, visual expression.

Bernstein studied Art in St Paul, MN, Champaign-Urbana, IL, and San Francisco, CA, before settling in Emeryville and Canyon, CA. She earned her MFA in Painting and Drawing but upon discovering wood construction began to combine woodcarvings with thinly cut sheet metal, hammered together with thousands of tiny escutcheon pins. Years later, and along similarly obsessive vein, she began pressing colored string into wax after learning about the Huichol Indians and their spiritual practices in Central Northwest Mexico.

Robin’s current subject matter combined with her artistic technique is her way of shouting from the rooftops: those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Human behavior being highly predictable, after all. Robin and her husband have two children, now young adults.

Resumé

Selection of Exhibitions

*2020 Upcoming Solo show and Artist Talk in conjunction with Politically Charged, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, Ca

1993 - 2019 Emeryville Celebration of the Arts, Emeryville, CA

https://emeryarts.org/

2019 Beauty and Terror, solo exhibition and Artist Talk, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA

Mirka Knaster Art Blog, What is Art For? https://mirkaart.com/exploringtheheartofit

Content Writing by Lenore Weiss: Robin Bernstein’s Beauty and Terror http://www.lenoreweiss.com/

2017 Renegade Fiber, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA

https://marinmoca.org/exhibitions/2017/

2016 Artists Rendezvous, Emeryville Artists Cooperative, Beauty and Terror: The Tyranny of the Witness, A Commentary on the Rise of Trump 70 years after Hitler

We are the Bridge Invitational and We are the Bridge Interfaith Art Biennial, Osher Marin and the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Oakland, CA

https://www.interfaithart.org/news/tag/we%20are%20the%20bridge

https://www.interfaithart.org/news/we-are-the-bridge-exhibition-at-the-marin-jcc

2006 See Jane Run, Contemporary Art about Childhood, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA

http://www.bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/past/see-jane-run

1989 - 2002 Modesto Junior College Faculty Exhibitions, Modesto, CA

2002 Robin Bernstein Solo Exhibition, College of the Redwoods, Arcata, CA

2000 Murals and Miniatures, Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1999 Matrix Gallery, 2 Person Exhibition, Sacramento, CA

1997 West Coast Painting and Sculpture, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA

https://oma-online.org/past_exhibitions1995-1997/westcoast-1997/

1997 Kennedy Art Center, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA

1996 Concerning Wood, Joan Roebuck Gallery, Lafayette, CA