Robert Lach

Bio:

Robert Lach is a multi-disciplinary artist who studied photography at the Visual Arts Center of NJ and the International Center for Photography in NYC. He received a BFA in sculpture from New Jersey City University. Born and raised in New Jersey it is the local landscape that fuels and inspires his art practice, which includes photography, sculpture, and installation work. The artist has participated in solo, group, site specific, and public art projects in the New York Metro area and nationally. Public art projects have included the Artlantic sculpture park in Atlantic City and The Gateway Project in Newark, NJ. Lach has attended residencies at Elsewhere, ESKFF at Mana Contemporary, Solo(s) Project House, I-Park, and Guttenberg Arts. His work has appeared and been reviewed in publications including Sculpture Magazine, Inhabitat, Art Nerd, Citizen Brooklyn, and the Star Ledger.  

Artist Statement:

I'm a multi-disciplinary artist. My work explores the personal narrative, using art as a mechanism to express or give voice to the human condition. I view art making as a holistic process and vehicle to heal the self. Found objects, trash, and locally gathered detritus, are the muse for photography, sculpture, and installation projects.

My sculptures are cellular and nest-like based on the architecture and anatomy of nature. I construct green habitats that reference the design, form and structure patterns found in the natural world.  The focus is on the labor of craft by experimenting and manipulating everyday recycled objects into art.  Three- dimensional forms are constructed into units or multiples mimicking the biology of living organisms. It is the beauty, organization, and simplicity of nature I try to replicate.  

Photography projects have included “Factory Women," “Automotive Graveyard," and digital photography.  The “Factory Women" series captures the remnants of pin ups left to the elements on the walls of an abandoned factory in Newark. The worn surfaces and salvaged appearance conjures feelings of neglect and resilience. “Automotive Graveyard" is a series of black and white silver gelatin prints that document vintage vehicles left to the elements in the outer woods that surround a local junkyard. Shot in winter when the trees were barren and linear evoking a sense of mystery and loss. My digital photography captures images of bones, leafs, and other organic matter in various stages of decomposition. When organic matter dwells long enough it decays, completing the cycle all living things must undergo and endure – the process of returning home to nature.