Roberto Bertoia

Roberto Bertoia teaches sculpture classes at all levels as well as drawing and special topics. Bertoia has exhibited in national and international juried and invitational exhibitions. He has been commissioned by Winston-Salem State University and the University of Binghamton. He continues to experiment with site, context, material, and craft as it relates to his investigation of isolation, absence/presence at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and design. Bertoia completed his B.F.A. in sculpture in 1978 at the University of Windsor–Ontario, and his M.F.A. in sculpture at Southern Illinois University in 1982, the year he began teaching at Cornell.

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Classes (Selected)

• ART 2501 Introduction to DrawingThis course provides students entering the B.F.A. program a gateway to contemporary art practice through drawing. Drawing here is conceived both as a self-sufficient medium and as a tool useful for the conceptual and practical development of ideas in other media. A wide range of technically and conceptually conceived assignments will introduce students to the breadth of contemporary practice and drawing itself.
• ART 4509 Independent Studio in Drawing
• ART 2401 Introduction to SculptureThis course introduces students to artistic practice in three dimensions using a variety of materials and approaches. Problems require the student to address materials in terms of cultural and historical context. Assumes no prior knowledge of sculpture.
• ART 3401 Sculpture: Sculptural/Artistic PracticeThis class will concentrate on the development of a studio practice that is autonomous and based on the artist's material and intellectual interests. Students will be encouraged to experiment with different research/production methodologies to develop a practice that is self-sustaining and flexible. Sculpture here should be taken in its least restrictive sense to the point where it implies merely an awareness and integration of spatial relations. In this sense, sculpture can imply the use of any artistic medium. Critiques, discussions and student presentations will comprise a large portion of class time. Readings will be assigned according to the needs and interests of the individual students. The class will be receptive to collaborative practice in the realm of production, but also, and most importantly, in the sense of fostering a mutually supportive and intellectually engaged artistic community.
• ART 3404 Sculpture InstallationSite-specific installations will be mediated through a variety of materials and individual and collaborative research. This course expands an awareness of traditional (welding, metal casting) and non-traditional materials (papermaking, rubber, fabric) though figurative modeling, abstract carving, and three-dimensional form and design.

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

• Cornell University Faculty Research and Development (1988, 1989, 1990, 2006)
• Pollock-Krasner Foundation (1986–87)
• Yaddo (1984)
• E.T. Greenshields Foundation (1981–82)

Exhibitions and Presentations (Selected)

• Roberto Bertoia (two-person show), Windsor Whipworks Gallery, Windsor, New York (2009)
• Tsinghua University, Beijing (2007)
• International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Jacob Javitts Center, New York City (2006)