Bob Emser - American Sculptor
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Resume

 

Bob Emser is an internationally recognized and lauded sculptor, with exhibits on 5 continents, 7 countries and 28 states in the U.S. His extensive body of work, dating back to 1978, can be seen in cities and municipalities, sculpture parks, museums and institutions of higher learning. During his 30+ year career he has served as a visiting artist and has taught at several universities, held a tenured professorship, and founded a not-for-profit art center that is still in existence. He has also served as the executive director of Chicago’s international sculpture exhibition, Pier Walk. As well as the founder and past president of Chicago Sculpture International, the local affiliate of International Sculpture Center, on whose Board of Directors he has served.

 

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS

CURRENT PROJECTS

Knoxville Kinetic Art Project, City Transit Center, Knoxville, TN

Peoria Civic Center Grand Hall Signature Sculpture, Peoria, IL

Chattanooga 5th Biennial Sculpture Exhibition, Chattanooga, TN, January 2012-May 2013

Private Commission, Highland Park, IL

Private Commission, Olympia Fields, IL

RECENT PROJECTS

515 North State Street, Chicago, IL September 1-November 30, 2011

Avenue of Sculpture, Art Chicago, 2010 & 2011

Olympia Fields, IL, Signature Piece – City Hall, 2010

Governors Island, NYC, 2010

Pinellas County Arts Council, FL, Belleair Causeway, 2010

Park Ridge, IL, Uptown Plaza, 2009

Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, 2008

City of Orland Park, IL, Marcus Theater Plaza, 2007

Dennos Museum, Northwest Michigan College, Traverse City, MI, 2007

Lake Land College, Alumni Park Plaza, Mattoon, IL, 2006

MUSEUM/PUBLIC ART COLLECTIONS

Swope Museum of Art, Terra Haute, IN

Dennos Museum, Traverse City, MI

Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL

Mitchell Museum, Cedarhurst Sculpture Park, Mount Vernon, IL

Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL

University Museum, Rio Grande, OH

Lakeview Museum, Peoria, IL

Hinkhouse Collection, Eureka College, Eureka, IL

State of Illinois Collection

City of Peoria, Riverfront Festival Park, Peoria, IL

Jørpeland, Norway, Commune Sculpture Park

AWARDS AND GRANTS

United States Artist Project Grant 2011

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant 2010

Artist Foundation of NY Grant 2009

United States Consulate International Grant 2009

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITS

515 North State Street, Chicago, IL September 1-November 30, 2011

Prudential Plaza, Chicago, IL January-June, 2008

Zone Gallery, Kansas City, MO June 3 – July 7, 2006

Atrium Gallery, St. Louis, MO March 24-April 30, 2006

FLATFILEgalleries, Chicago, IL January 6- February 24, 2006

Northern Illinois University Art Museum, Shadow Drawings, August 22 - December 12, 2005

Purdue University, North Central Westville, IN November-March, 2004-2005

Krasl Art Center, St Joseph, MI July-August, 2004

Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL February 28-April 18, 2004

SELECTED INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITS

Sydney, Australia, Sculpture by the Sea-Bondi, 2002 & 2008 & 2009 & 2010

Perth, Australia, Sculpture by the Sea, 2010 & 2011

Stavanger, Norway, Symposia 18-8 Stainless Steel Symposium, June 2005

Cordoba, Argentina, Mask, Another Skin, November 2004

Rome, Italy, "Six Chicago Sculptors" EUR Lake, September-October 2000

Paris, France, Salon de Marly le Roi, February 1999

Friedrichshafen, West Germany, Stadt Bodensee-Museum, April-May 1985

SELECTED TWO-PERSON EXHIBITS

David Weinberg Gallery, Framework, Chicago, IL July – August 2009

Elmhurst Art Museum, Inside Out, Chakaia Booker & Bob Emser, Elmhurst IL Oct. 18, 2008-Jan. 11, 2009

TADU Contemporary, Fluid Form, Santa Fe, NM June-July 2003

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITS

Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park, ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, Mi, September 22-October 10, 2010

Governors Island Encounters, New York City, May 12-October 10

Krasl Biennial Sculpture Invitational Chicago Sculpture International September 28-October 29,2006

CSI BIENNALE 2006 Chicago Sculpture International Juried Exhibit, May 5 – June 16, 2006

9th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibit, Univ. of Hawaii’s Art Gallery, March 5 - April 13, 2006

Chicago, IL Artist/Model-maker/Sculptor Continental Building October 2005 

Greeley, Colorado 8th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit February 2005 - 2006

Somerby's Landing Sculpture 2004 / 05 Newburyport, MA

Purdue University North Central Sculpture Symposium   Westville, IN Oct 2003

Convergence Outdoor Sculpture Providence, RI July 2003 - 2004

Soho20 Gallery Art in America Curated “Spring Invitational” New York, NY. March 25-April 19, 2003

Polk Museum Third Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition” Received Best of Show. Lakeland, FL March 2003 - February 2004

Sarasota Season of Sculpture, Sarasota, FL November-May 2003

Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition 2002 Bellevue, WA June 21- October 7, 2002: Invited Artist

Chicago’s Navy Pier, Pier Walk, 1996-2001

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

2008 Bob Emser American Sculptor by Jeff Huebner, Foreword by Glenn Harper

2007 Kennedy Publishing Best Of America Sculpture Vol. 1

ARTICLES & REVIEWS

February 12, 2011 The Pantagraph by Dan Craft

October 3, 2010 Peoria Journal Star by Clare Howard

December 2008 The Chicago Reader by Deanna Issacs

May 2006 Art in America by Victor M. Cassidy

June 21, 2004 Artnet Prairie Smoke by Victor M. Cassidy

April 2004 Sculpture Magazine vol. 23 no. 3

CATALOGS

August 2009 Framework David Weinberg Gallery, Essay by Aaron Ott

October 2008 Inside Out Elmhurst Art Museum, Essay by D. Neil Bremer

July 2007 Sculpture Invasion Koehnline Museum of Art

EDUCATION

BRADLEY UNIVERSITY - Master of Fine Art, 1978

EUREKA COLLEGE - Bachelor of Arts - Art, 1976

WORK EXPERIENCE

FULL-TIME SCULPTOR/Lecturer 

1996 – Present

NATHAN MANILOW SCUPTURE PARK, University City, IL

             Member of the Board of Directors, 2005 - Present

INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE CENTER

Member of the Board of Directors, 2005- 2008

CHICAGO SCULPTURE INTERNATIONAL

President/Co-Founder, 2004-2011

3-D CHICAGO - Chicago, IL

Executive Director, Pier Walk, 1999-2001

CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER OF PEORIA  - Peoria, IL

Founder/ Executive Director, 1995-1999 

EUREKA COLLEGE - Eureka, IL

Associate Professor of Art, 1989-1996

Chairperson-Fine and Performing Arts Division, 1987-1990

Assistant Professor of Art, 1983-1989

Gallery Director, 1983-1995

LAKEVIEW MUSEUM - Peoria, IL

Assistant Curator of Exhibitions, 1980-1983

PEORIA PARK DISTRICT- Peoria, IL

Landscape Designer, 1979-1980

 



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