ARTIST STATEMENT:
This work consists of 72 painted Kisses in all, approximately the number of kisses that come in a single 12 oz. package and the number of days I spent away from my wife during the past year. I ate every one of them once the painting was completed. This work represents three guilty pleasures within a single piece - my love of candy, my love for my wife, and my love of painting candy for my wife.
Guilty Pleasure #1:
I am a closet chocoholic. As a child, my mother once caught me stealing a chocolate candy bar from the kitchen cabinet; and as punishment, she forced fed me the entire package. I loved it. Most people would have been repulsed by the idea of having to consume an entire package of candy bars, let alone having them shoved in your mouth by your own mother as a form of punishment - not me. To this day I eat chocolate daily; and so the creation of this work was, in part, a pure personal satisfaction.
Guilty Pleasure #2:
Perhaps is sounds too cliché, but I adore my wife. We’ve been married for over eight years now; and, while her looks may not earn her the title of “world’s top supermodel”, and she might not be considered a genius by others, nor could it be said that we always agree on every thing, I consider her the love of my life. As circumstances would have it, we found ourselves living and working in two distant states last year. The hassle of flying, let alone the cost, prohibited us from seeing each other with any frequency. I missed her dearly. I missed her companionship; and, more than anything, I missed her affection.
Guilty Pleasure #3:
I conceived of this work as a form of honoring that adoration and as a kind of ritual prayer in hopes that our lives would soon be reunited. In the fall of ’07 I began painting a single Kiss each day for every day I was apart from my wife. I considered them surrogates for the actual kisses that I would have otherwise given to her in person. After completing the painting, I would say a prayer for our reunion and proceed to consume each kiss, both as a substitute for her returned affection and as a form of host. At some point, the joy of painting the Kisses superseded the intended purpose of the project, as did the pleasure of eating the candy. Thus is the guilty pleasure tri-fecta - my love of candy, my love for my wife, and my love of painting candy for my wife.

Education:
The University of Arizona MFA painting
School of the Art Institute of Chicago painting concentration
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, BFA painting

Solo exhibitions:
2009 - Klaudia Marr Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Santa Fe NM (catalogue)
2004 - Dinnerware Contemporary Art Gallery, “Portraits and Perversions,” Tucson AZ
2001 - Western Texas College, “(A)pathetic,” Snyder TX
2000 - Sleeth Gallery of Wesleyan University, “Awkward Intimacies,” Buckhannon WV

Juried exhibitions :
2009 - The Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, “All Small Redux” Decatur GA
- Projects Gallery, “Guilty Pleasures” Philadelphia PA
2007 - Northern Kentucky University Main Gallery, “I Love You Love Me” Highland Heigths KY
2007 - Tucson Museum of Art, “Arizona Biennial ‘07” Tucson AZ
2003 - Art Link Contemporary Art Gallery, “Lots of Little Art,” Fort Wayne IN
2001 - Leslie Powell Gallery, University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha OK (purchase award)
2000 - Washington Art Association, “Young Talent,” Washington Depot CT
1998 - Apparatus Gallery, “Multi-Cultural Religious,” Tucson AZ
- Kellogg Art Gallery, Cal Poly University “Fragmented Bodies: Violence or Identity?,” Pomona CA
- Creative Arts Workshop, “Rhythm, Gesture, Metaphor,” New Haven CT
- Cesar Chavez Gallery, “Fetish,” San Francisco CA

Group Shows:
2009 - Projects Gallery, “Bridge Art Fair” New York, NY
- Stewart Gallery, “L.A. Art Fair” Los Angeles CA
- Visual Arts Graduate Research Laboratory —The University of Arizona, “Continuum” Tucson AZ
- NMSU Art Gallery, “Faculty Art Exhibition” Las Cruces NM
2008 - The Stewart Gallery, “Small Wonders (lilliputians)” Boise ID
- The Space Gallery, ”life Like to life Size” New Richmond WI
- Klaudia Marr Gallery, “2008/07 Realism Invitational” Santa Fe NM
2007 - Klaudia Marr Gallery, “2007 Realism Invitational ” Santa Fe NM
- Platform Gallery, “Relatively Funny” Tucson AZ
- Furlong Gallery, “Faculty Exhibition ‘07” Menomonie WI
- Tucson Museum of Art, “An Eclectic Eye” Tucson, AZ (catalogue)
2006 - Platform Gallery, “New Works” Tucson AZ
- Phoenix Museum of Art, “Contemporary Forum Grant Winners” Phoenix AZ
- E therton/Temple Gallery, “Bonfire of the Vanitas” Tucson AZ
2005 - Platform Gallery, “Behind Our Eyes” Tucson AZ
- Liz Hernandez Gallery, “Out of Chaos” Tucson AZ
- Ehterton/Temple Gallery, “Wherefore Art Thou?” Tucson AZ
2004 - Southern Arizona Aids Foundation, Festival of Life, “Paper Prayers” Tucson AZ
- Liz Hernandez Gallery, “Earth, Wind, and Faces” Tucson AZ
- T ucson Museum of Art, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” Tucson AZ
- MOCA , “Drawn” Tucson AZ
- Monorchid Studios, “Respite” Phoenix AZ
2002 - MOCA , Hazmat Gallery, “Have and Hold” Tucson AZ
- Northern Arizona University, “Surface” Flagstaff AZ
2000 - Landmark Gallery, Texas Tech University, “Faculty Show” Lubbock TX
- MOCA , Hazmat Gallery, “New! with anti-oxidants” Tucson AZ
1999 - Gallery on the Green, “Small Works Invitational” Canton CT
- Joseloff Gallery, Hartford Art School, “Annual Faculty Show” W. Hartford CT
- Joseph Gross Gallery, “MFA Thesis Show” Tucson AZ
1998 - The Select Gallery, “Hands In...” Sedona AZ

Public Collections:
The Museum of Art at Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX
The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson AZ
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson AZ
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha OK

Awards & Lectures:
2008 - NMSU College of Arts and Sciences Dissemination Grant
2006 - Visiting Lecturer and Juror, Avra High School, Marana AZ
2005 - Contemporary Forum Grant, Phoenix Museum of Art
- Arts in the Park, Coordinator, Pima Community College Student Exhibition, Oro Valley AZ
2004 - Tombstone Gallery Annual Art Exhibition, Juror, Tombstone AZ
2000 - West Virginia Wesleyan University, Visiting Artist Lecturer Graduate Teaching Scholarship,
University of Arizona 1997, 1998, 1999
1999 - FATE (Foundations & Art Theory in Education) Student Award
- Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, UA College of Fine Arts
- Final Project Grant, UA College of Fine Arts
1998 - Travel Grant, Tucson Pima Arts Council

Publications & Citations:
Philadelphia City Paper “Hot Off the Prez: Robin Rice on Visual Art February 2009
Philadelphia City Paper “Obama-rama” and “Guilty Pleasures” at Projects Gallery” Robin Rice February 2009
The Daily Campello “Went to Projects last Friday” February 2009
“Guilty Pleasures & Obama-rama Open at Projects Gallery,” Ignacio Villarreal Jr, January 2009
Art Knowledge News “Obama-o-Rama” and “Guilty Pleasures” Lloyd S. Rubin, Ed January 2009
Boise Weekly “Cover Artist” painting (“Red & White Candy”) reproduced on the cover of city weekly newspaper with additional painting (“Uncle”) reproduced on the inside cover December 2008
“Soaring Upward,” Margret Regan Tucson Weekly January 13, 2008
“Review of Faculty Art Exhibition at UW-Stout,” Darren Tesar and Patrick Gantert Art Canary: The Twin Cities-Area Student Arts Writing Intitiative November 12, 2007
Tucson Museum of Art “An Eclectic Eye: Selections from the Dan Leach Collection” Tucson AZ (exhibition catalogue) October 2007
Downtown Tucsonan, “Julia Latané Returns to MOCA” October 2005 (contributing critic):
Tucson Citizen, “Our City’s Rich With Art” (May 12 cover story) May 12, 2005:
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma “Seventh Annual Juried Exhibition,” Chickasha OK (exhibition catalogue):
Artlies: A Texas Art Journal, Volume 2 October 2001 “Texas Works, Art Zealot + Will Cannings” (contributing critic for West Texas area):
Artlies: A Texas Art Journal, Volume I August 2001 “Nola Dixon Richards: The Other Side of Silence”(contributing critic for West Texas area):
“Religious Themes Predominate At Apparatus Gallery’s Latest Exhibition,” Margaret Regan, Tucson Weekly, December 1998:
“The Fragmented Body,” a small group exhibition which featured my work received much critical attention and was ranked the third top exhibition in Orange County/Los Angeles in 1998 by The Orange County Register December 27, 1998:
“Artists Seek Wholeness in Divided Lives” Danielle Walsh, The Orange County Register, Fine Arts Section November 15 1998:
“Bodies of Expression” Deborah L. Knaff, The Press Enterprise November 15, 1998:
“Exhibit Explores Fragmented Bodies,” Cal Ploy Press November 16, 1998:
“Headless Barbies on the March,” Only in L.A., Steve Harvey’s column in the Los Angeles Times November 18, 1998:
“Rhythm, Gesture Metaphor,” a small group exhibition juried by Squeak Cornwalth which featured my work received much critical attention and was selected for Best of New Haven 1998: Staff Picks by The New Haven Advocate May 1998:
“Painter’s Picks: Painting, Works on Paper,” William Zimmer, The New York Times May 10, 1998:
“What’s the Word?,” Hank Hoffman, New Haven Advocate May 1998:
“Written word becomes visual link in national show,” Judy Birke, New Haven Register May 1998

Public Collections:
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson AZ:
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha OK

Galleries:
Graficas Gallery, Tucson AZ 2006 — Current:
Art One Gallery, Scottsdale AZ 2006 — Current:
Liz Hernandez Gallery, Tucson AZ 2004 — 2006:
The Select Gallery, Sedona AZ 1997 — 1999