Robert Fathauer

Statement

I’m fascinated by beautiful and complex forms and patterns both in mathematics and in the natural world. My background as a research scientist, combined with a lifelong interest in art, enable me to explore mathematical ideas and extend them in innovative ways to create unique and original prints and sculptures. I often use a mathematical form as a starting point and exercise artistic license in order to create abstract objects that are designed to be captivating and thought provoking. In recent years my primary medium has been ceramics, with a special interest in incorporating other materials to add interest and emphasize different features.

Artworks

This hand-built, unglazed black-clay Möbius band has steel dowels inserted orthogonally along it center line to define a second band interpenetrating the first.

These sculptures are designed to have negative curvature, i.e., curvature bending in opposite directions, at each point. These sorts of forms are often seen in nature in leaves of plants, petals of flowers, coral, and other sea creatures. A black clay was used and left unglazed on one side, with the opposing side glazed white for maximum contrast.