Brian Roberts

Growing up on a farm in southwestern Iowa and the agricultural lifestyle has long been an inspiration for the sculptures of Brian Roberts. His art examines the cyclical nature of agriculture, through growth and change, and how they closely parallel the cycles of life. A multi-medium artist, Roberts first discovered his desire to be an artist after taking a course in glassblowing while studying at Central College in Pella, IA. He attained a B.A. in art from Central College and went on to receive an M.A. in Art Education from Iowa State University and two M.F.A’s in Sculpture and Metalsmithing from Miami University of Ohio. He has been a professor of art at his alma mater Central College for twelve years and teaches courses in glass, metal, sculpture, and ceramics. With such a diverse background in the making of art, his art spans the gamut from jewelry to large scale sculptures. Much of Roberts’s art focuses on his agrarian background, from the abstracted ceramic barn and silo structures to his metal and enamel studies of seeds and pollen. His works of art have been published in 500 Bracelets and 500 Necklaces and in the magazines Sculpture and American Craft. He has also exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. Brian Roberts represents a new generation of Iowa artists who continue to expand their knowledge of diverse materials, while maintaining a faithful reverence to the land from which he came and the agricultural heritage of Iowa.