One need only to look at the work to date, especially the exquisite, jewel-like Aluminum Series, the emblematic Hematite Series and the hieroglyphs of the Paper Series and realize it was only a matter of time that Robert went molecular. And by all means this new series, Strands, is truly molecular in focus. But not only was it a matter of time for Robert to go small, to drill down as it were – to visually drill down as one can with an electron microscopic – to get to the atomic level, he now is thinking small on the molecular level. This is a place where we and our world, as the descendants of the mythical and primordial cosmic dust cloud, both exist and connect. Think DNA. Think Periodic Table. Think language. Think Internet. We are all connected whether organic or not. So focus your microscopes – your eyes – and closely observe Strands. See the bone-like structure coated in pumice. And what is that oozing through a rupture in the surface but a crystalline, silicone substance. These are primal materials. They are building blocks. They are structural strands. Now link them together to build a new structure … a new reality … a new visual language. Yes, we and the world that surrounds us are connected by, you guessed it, Strands.
Christopher Merlo
January, 2011
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