Rob Kolhouse
Artist Statement
My work is heavily influenced by the cartoons, video games, and comic books I loved as a child. Growing up as a bi-racial kid in the 1980s was often difficult, and I escaped into these worlds of sci-fi and fantasy. As an adult, living in a world where video games and social media allow us to imagine and create alternative versions of ourselves, I find the image of the cyborg, an amalgam of flesh and machine, a timely metaphor for the relationship between the human body and our ever-advancing technology. Drawing on the aesthetics of fantasy worlds that sparked my imagination as a child, I explore the intersection of identity, technology, and the body.
Bio
Rob Kolhouse received his BFA from Indiana University and his MFA from University of Florida. Influenced by Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto and the cyberpunk classic Ghost in the Shell, his sculptures investigate the intersection of art and technology using the cyborg as a metaphor. His work has appeared in high profile juried shows such as the annual NCECA National Juried Exhibition, Archie Bray’s Beyond the Brickyard, the bi-annual exhibition for the Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics, and at the Philadelphia Clay Studio. Internationally, he has shown at Guldagergaard in Demark as well as in exhibitions in France and Canada.