Robert Patterson has learned to forgive the public for interpreting his work as interesting household trays, but as an artist with decades of experience and experimentation with wood and art, it remains an ongoing task to explain that his work is a freestanding object, not a surrogate for anything else.
In fact, he makes this a central theme for his website with a header that proclaims that Patterson’s work is “making things that aren’t something else.”
Perhaps this is the reason that Robert Patterson’s pieces have gained a tremendous following over the last ten years. During that time, his unique wood objects have been award-winning ones in some of the most prestigious crafts shows in the country, including the Smithsonian Craft & Design Show and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.
That fact certainly influenced the leaders of the Academy Art Museum’s Crafts Show this year when they selected Patterson as the Visionary Artist for this increasingly popular fall event scheduled for October 15th to the 17th in Easton.
The Spy talked to Robert via Zoom from his Milton, Georgia studio about his work as he prepares to travel to the Eastern Shore to be part of what promises to be one of the most exciting crafts shows the AAM has produced over its 24-year history.
This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum’s 2021 Crafts Show or to purchase tickets please go here.
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