About
Bob Trotman is a sculptor working in western North Carolina.
Artist Statement
Working most in wood, I see my efforts in relation to the vernacular traditions of carved religious figures, ship’s figureheads, and the so-called “show figures” found outside shops in the nineteenth century. However, as a contemporary artist, I want to use this tradition as a point of departure for satirical commentary on the workings of money and power in America today.
Biography
Bob Trotman was born in Winston-Salem, NC in 1947. After receiving a B.A. in philosophy from Washington and Lee University in 1969, he taught secondary school English for several years, then, in the mid 70’s, opened his studio in rural western North Carolina. Self-taught in art, he has received two NEA grants and four grants from the NC Arts Council. His work is held in the permanent collections of many museums including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Columbia Museum of Art, The Museum of Art of the Rhode Island School of Design, The North Carolina Museum of Art, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Gregg Museum of Art and Design,The Weatherspoon Museum of Art, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, The Mint Museum, and the Museum of Art and Design in new York, (among others).
In 2020 he was named to the College of Fellows of The American Craft Council.
Resume
Selected Solo Exhibitions
| 2019 | Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA |
| 2018 | Gregg Museum of Art and Design, NC State University, Raleigh NC |
| 2017 | Van Every and Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson, NC |
| 2017 | Projective Eye Gallery, UNCC, Charlotte, NC |
| 2014 | Visual Arts Center, Richmond, VA |
| 2014 | Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC |
| 2012 | Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA |
| 2010 | North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC |
| 2008-10 | Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC Stainer Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA Cameron Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC |
| 2006 | Frist Art Musuem, Nashville, TN |
| 2002 | Hand Workshop, Richmond, VA |
| 2002 | Weatherspoon Museum of Art. Greensboro, NC |
| 2001 | Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1998 | Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1996 | Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1995 | Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC |
| 1994 | Gregg Museum of Art and Design, Raleigh, NC |
| 1993 | Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA |
| 1992 | Nexus Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA |
Selected Group Exhibitions
| 2022 | 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Cameron Art Museum , Wilmington, NC |
| 2017 | “State of the Art”, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC |
| 2017 | “State of the Art”, Dixon Gallery, Memphis, TN |
| 2017 | “State of the Art”, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN |
| 2016 | “State of the Art”. Jepson Center, Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA |
| 2014 | “State of the Art”, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR |
| 2011 | two person show with Marlyn Murphy, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, A |
| 2011 | Houston Fine Arts Fair, Jerald Melberg Gallery, Houston, TX |
| 1990 | “Art that Works” (Lloyd Herman, curator, traveled US) |
| 1986 | “Poetry of the Physical” (Paul Smith, curator, traveled US) |
Selected Collections
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Gregg Museum of Art and Design, NC State University, Raleigh, NC
Vice President’s Residence, Washington, DC
Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC
Weatherspoon Art Museum, UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
Museum of Art, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Davidson College, Davidson, NC
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Sydney and Frances Lewis Collection, Richmond, VA
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Grants and Awards
| 2020 | College of Fellows, American Craft Council |
| 2013 | Finalist, 1858 Prize, Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC |
| 1984, 1988 | National Endowment for the Arts, Artist Fellowship |
| 1984, 1995, 200, 2010 | North Carolina Artist Fellowship |
Personal
Born Winston-Salem, NC 1947
Education
| 1965-9 | B.A. Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA |
| 1976 | Jon Brooks, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC |
| 1977 | Sam Maloof, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC |
| 1985 | James Surls, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL |
| 1986 | Robert Morris, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL |
Bibliography
Castle, Wendell. “The Leading Edge”, Popular Mechanics, November 1986, pp. 88.90
Gionvannini, Joseph. “Chairs That Roar”, The New York Times, March 19, 1987, C-1
Hanzal, Carla. “Interview with Bob Trotman”, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2005
Heartney, Eleanor. “Art and the Spiritual”, Thresholds, SC Arts Commission: “Bob Trotman: Capitalism as Religion”, essay in monograph Inverted Utopias, North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010 Doomsday Dreams, essays, Silver Hollow Press
Kistler, Ashley. “Bob Trotman: Model Citizens”, catalogue essay, Hand Workshop, Richmond, VA, 2002
Koplos, Janet. “Bob Trotman at Franklin Parrasch” review, Art in America, October, 2001
Plagens, Peter. “The State of ‘State of the Art’ “, Wall Street Journal, September, 2014
Leach, Mark R. “ArtCurrents 20: Bob Trotman” Interview. Mint Museum of Art. 1995
Meyer, Jon. “1988 Mint Museum of Art Biennial’, ArtNews, September 1988.
Ryan, Dinah. “Bob Trotman at Hand Workshop Art Center” Sculpture, December 2002
Sloan, Mark et al. “Business as Usual” monograph, Halsey Institute of Art, fall 2017
Washburn, Mark. “Interview with Bob Trotman, Sculpture, Jan/Feb 2011