Roy Staab
Encyclopedia
Roy Frank Staab was born in Milwaukee on September 9, 1941, the son of Roy William Staab, an artist, painter, and advertising designer. Staab studied painting and graphics at the Layton School of Art
and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In the 1970s, he lived and traveled in Europe, based in Paris and Germany. From 1980 to 1993, Staab lived in New York City
. He currently resides in Milwaukee, WI (USA).
Staab’s creations are site-specific. He works with local, found materials. The artworks devolve back into the landscape –- seashore, river, wetland, or forest—after Staab’s act of creation in a place is finished. Staab’s work is distinguished by its elegance of line, structure, and geometric form, executed outdoors at large scale.
His artworks provide a rational counter-structure within the natural landscape for the viewer. The effect is one of holding a mirror to nature, focusing on the ultimately uncontrollable natural material
s and context out of which Staab creates and maintains for a limited time a highly refined work of art. To experience a Staab sculpture in situ–immersed and reflected in water, blown by wind, illuminated in sunlight or moonlight—is to enter into a place of great beauty where fine art
has been created to celebrate the natural world, human ideals, and art.
Staab’s creative process at a site includes his own performance, sometimes involving performative community participation. In his creative realm, Staab gathers materials, creates, tends, and photographs his work, and offers direction and interpretation to participants and viewers.
Grant, Gottlieb Foundation Award, the Joan Mitchell Award, New York Foundation for the Arts award/Sculpture, New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant, and New York State Council on the Arts
grant, among other honors.
in New York City (USA), and the Milwaukee Art Museum
(USA), Abington Art Center (USA), Boreal Art/Nature (Canada), Yokohama Museum of Art (Japan), Ripon College
(USA), University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire (USA), and Vassar College
(USA).
Layton School of Art
The Layton School of Art was a third level institute based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was established by Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink in 1920 and closed as a result of financial insolvency in 1974. At its closure, the school was regarded as one of the top five art schools in the United...
and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In the 1970s, he lived and traveled in Europe, based in Paris and Germany. From 1980 to 1993, Staab lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He currently resides in Milwaukee, WI (USA).
the art of Roy Staab
After experimenting with painting and watercolor, in the 1970s artist Roy Staab focused on the art of the line on paper. In 1979, Staab took his art outdoors. Since 1983, he has worked exclusively in nature with nature, making ephemeral environmental site installations: sculpture that is often made of reeds above water, where reflection is part of the work.Staab’s creations are site-specific. He works with local, found materials. The artworks devolve back into the landscape –- seashore, river, wetland, or forest—after Staab’s act of creation in a place is finished. Staab’s work is distinguished by its elegance of line, structure, and geometric form, executed outdoors at large scale.
His artworks provide a rational counter-structure within the natural landscape for the viewer. The effect is one of holding a mirror to nature, focusing on the ultimately uncontrollable natural material
Natural material
A natural material is any product or physical matter that comes from plants, animals, or the ground. Minerals and the metals that can be extracted from them are also considered to belong into this category.* Biotic materials...
s and context out of which Staab creates and maintains for a limited time a highly refined work of art. To experience a Staab sculpture in situ–immersed and reflected in water, blown by wind, illuminated in sunlight or moonlight—is to enter into a place of great beauty where fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
has been created to celebrate the natural world, human ideals, and art.
Staab’s creative process at a site includes his own performance, sometimes involving performative community participation. In his creative realm, Staab gathers materials, creates, tends, and photographs his work, and offers direction and interpretation to participants and viewers.
Artist
Staab’s first international show was the 1990 Summer Arts Festival of Jyvaskyla, Finland. Staab has since been invited to create installations in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Japan, and Italy, among many other places.Residencies, awards, and grants
Roy Staab has been awarded a Japan/American Artist Exchange Creative Artist Fellowship, residencies at the Sapporo Museum and Yokohama Museum of Art (Japan), a Pollock-Krasner FoundationPollock-Krasner Foundation
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expressionist painter and the widow of fellow painter Jackson...
Grant, Gottlieb Foundation Award, the Joan Mitchell Award, New York Foundation for the Arts award/Sculpture, New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant, and New York State Council on the Arts
New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
grant, among other honors.
Photography, painting & works on paper
Staab documents each unique artwork, creative experience, and landscape with his own photography. The photographs endure after the ephemeral artworks disappear back into the landscape. Photographs of Staab's work have been featured on the covers of "American Craft" and "Orion" magazines. Staab’s paintings, drawings, and photographs can be found in the collections of the Musée d'Art Moderne and Fonds national d'art contemporain in Paris (France), the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City (USA), and the Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
(USA), Abington Art Center (USA), Boreal Art/Nature (Canada), Yokohama Museum of Art (Japan), Ripon College
Ripon College (Wisconsin)
Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...
(USA), University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire (USA), and Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
(USA).