Colin Roberts, visual artist from Los Angeles, United States. Photography © C. Roberts

1.Tell us what you do and your beginnings.

I’m a visual artist based in Los Angeles, California. I create objects using various materials like plexiglass, resins, clays and more to explore different concepts and themes. These contain ideas having to do with different aspects of architecture.

Eperiments with organic shapes, construction and how light interacts with shape, color, etc and combining these themes with ideas about the human psyche. One series of sculptures I make are called Glass Pillows. These are hollow, clear plexiglassforms in various colors and shapes, which light travels through, as well as reflects off the surface of the works.

They are durable objects that appear to be soft and malleable. They are handmade structures made of hundreds of pieces of plexiglass carefully bonded together.

2.What are your favorite museums in the world? Why?

My favorite museums so far have been the Pergamon Museum and the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, as well as the Musée d’Orsay, Versailles and the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The Pergamon’s incredible giant reconstructed walls. Versailles gardens and extremely decadent interiors. The Banhoff’s collection of large artworks by contemporary artists. The Musée d’Orsay and Louvre for the amazing histories they contain along with some of the most important works of art ever made.

3.How important are social networks in your business? And which platform do you prefer and why.

Social networks are very important for the arts nowadays. We are all learning, growing, evolving from each other faster than in the past by sharing visual information so much more and faster nowadays.

Personally, I like Instagram because its simple and fast. It’s a great tool for artists to allow people across the world to learn about the visual ideas you want to share.

4.What are your future projects?

Lately I’ve been experimenting with a number of different plexiglass shapes. Future Projects include creating larger shapes for hotel projects and ehibitions and experimenting with similar ideas in glass and other materials to vary surfaces and see how limits can be pushed in different ways.

5.To create greater engagement among museums, artists and professionals, do you have any advice for cultural projects such as #MuseumWeek?

I think that some museums could use their social media platforms to reach out and engage upcoming artists and designers more to see what they’re working on, process, etc. They could also hold more public activities that help people engage with and learn about art easier.

Interview by Fabio Pariante, journalist

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Colin Roberts on social networks: Instagram

Colin Roberts (Fullerton, 1974) is an American artist, from Los Angeles, and he received a BFA from Otis School of Art and Design in 2001. His artistic production investigates the fragility of the human being through sculptures, installations and drawings.

Sometimes they are surreal works, which relate reality with original and disturbing ideas that question the viewer’s thought, and therefore the balance. Each pop work is designed to think about a cultural, psychic and social process. Since 2008 Roberts has been creating “magic” pillows in plexiglass and perspex that refract light: a simple object for everyday use that represents our natural need to sleep, rest, calm the mind and our soul. Our lifestyle.

Roberts’ works are exhibited in galleries around the world and he has collaborated with some of the world’s leading designers and architects, including fashion designer Maison Martin Margiela and Johnston Marklee Architects. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, California.