ABOUT THE ARTIST

Robert Holmes has been exhibiting sculptures over the past twenty-five years in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Holmes' work is represented in galleries throughout the States. The artist has had numerous one-man, group, and invitational shows. Many private and corporate collectors worldwide own and enjoy his art.

The artist obtained a Civil Engineering degree and architectural training from the University of Arizona. Because of these skills, Holmes has the technical expertise to interface easily with designers and architects. Both disciplines are evident in the structural elements of his technical prowess.

Uplifting emotions are a central theme in the work and as Holmes says, there is, "No politics, no horror, no shock, no ugliness. There's enough of that in the world!" Through the human form, Holmes conveys a Zen like serenity, grace, optimism, and strength. In alignment with this focus, UBS Warburg Bank in London and Paine Webber has recently acquired Holmes's "The Dancers" as the public face on their brochures. They feel this sculpture, which is installed in the UBS Bank in London, is a symbol of their new merger, "the art of the possible."

The artist has his foundry, Bronze + Inc. in Sebastopol, California, fifty miles north of San Francisco and his residence and studio at The Sea Ranch, which is further north on the California coast. Holmes feels he has control of the quality and precision of the casting process by owning a foundry. There, he creates semiabstract cast bronze figures in limited editions of 3 to 12, which range from table-size to larger-than-life. Holmes has this to say about his work: "My work is my statement. I don't believe that words go very far in describing sculpture. I would rather let people see my work itself and interact with it in their own way."

Robert Holmes received the Premio del Presidente/ Citt?Ý di Firenze and the Premio Lorenzo il Magnifico medal for an artist's lifetime achievement at the fourth edition of the In-ternational Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy in December 2003. More than 800 artists from 74 countries were selected based on the quality of their creative work and the cultural and ethnic values they represented. An international committee representing 37 countries selected the artists. Then an international jury of nine eminent art critics, au-thors, art historians, and museum curators selected the actual pieces to receive awards in the Biennial exhibit.

Distinguished New York art critic and professor Dr. Barbara Rose chose her U.S. nomi-nees on their stature of professionalism, diversity and artistic individualism. "These art-ists presentations attempt to speak to a universal audience during this time of world change. The nominated artists represent the diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds of individuals residing in the United States of America. Their artworks provide new vision-ary concepts of individualistic artistic expressions."