Roberta Malkin

I am a painter, sculptor, and print-maker working primarily with the human figure. Over the course of my life I have experimented with numerous styles but my interest in the human figure has been a constant. Early in my career I developed chaotic patterns that seemed to flow directly out of my subjects and into the surrounding canvas. Even today I use abstract patterns, not just for decoration but to tie together my various elements. These connect the figures to each other, and to the viewer.

I have a long history with painting and drawing, but now I work increasingly in ceramic sculpture and woodcuts, still focusing on the human figure. I continue to situate these figures in odd or imagined contexts. Some of my formal choices are structural, such as adding a second figure to a piece so it will remain upright. But more often than not, forms mysteriously appear to me, as if welling up directly from my subconscious, a process I cannot fully explain

I have been an artist for over 40 years. I studied fine art at the University of Illinois, taught art and later ran a computer lab and did staff training at a Chicago suburban area school for 30 years. I now make art full time.

© Roberta Malkin