Bio

Robert Ressler (b. 1954, Brooklyn, NY) is an American sculptor praised for his masterful use of materials: hand-carved wood, welded steel, cast bronze, creating public works that both command space and captivate their audience. Over a career spanning more than twenty-five years, Ressler has sculpted artworks that merge technical prowess with emotional resonance. 

Case in point: Beacon, the towering bronze that stands on the American Veterans Memorial Pier, was commissioned to honor Brooklyn residents lost on September 11.  Another iconic artwork,  In Search of the New World, ironically marked the quincentennial of Columbus's landing, interrogating the meaning of the European arrival to these continents by depicting a stray dog suckling its young in search of shelter. Cast in bronze, it received critical acclaim during its exhibition at Wave Hill horticultural estate overlooking the Hudson River. 

Writing in The New York Times, art critic William Zimmer praised the exhibition, noting: “Mr. Ressler’s display is a small triumph. The pieces don’t overwhelm, but they’re more than ornament. They are judiciously sited and seem to draw the surrounding nature into themselves.”

Zimmer singled out New World for its evocative, mythic power: "It bears two rows of teats, recalling the she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus, founders of a new world in their preclassical day.”

Ressler’s art has been exhibited and commissioned by institutions including the Public Art Fund, MoMA PS1, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and has appeared at The Jewish Museum, the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (Lincoln, MA), the James A. Michener Museum (Doylestown, PA), and Socrates Sculpture Park (Long Island City, NY). Collectors and curators value his work for its synthesis of concept and craftsmanship, for the way his sculptures transform elemental materials into meditations on time, endurance, and the human condition.

REVIEWS

Brenson, M. (1998, June 21) Bold Sculpture for Outdoor Spaces. New York Times.

Brenson, M. (1991, July 26). Cityful of Sculpture Under the Sky. New York Times.

Cockfield, E. (2004, March 9). Brooklyn Unveils Winning Design. Newsday.

Cotter, H. (1994, August 26). Sculpture Under the Sky. New York Times.

Dodds, J. (1991, January 1). Sculpture City. Art in America

Donohoe, V. (1997, August 17). Sculptures at Michener Museum. Philadelphia Inquirer.

Giusti, K.  (1994, April 1). Sculpture in the Public sphere.Public Art Review.

Harish, A. (1994, November 1). Commissions. SCULPTURE.

Kimmelman, Michael. (1993, August 6). Sculpture’s Season in the Sun. New York Times.

Liembach, D. (1991, May 3). Mantis. New York  Times.

Mahoney, J. (1995, July 18). Apple’s New Sculpture. New York Post.

Manhattan Journal: Jill-in-the-Box. (1995, May 29). New York Observer.

Pollack, S. (2005, September 11). An Artist’s Calling, Homage to 9/11. Burlington Press.

Randinsky, R. (1995, July 23). Bullets and Zygotes Over Broadway. New York Times.

Sapers, J. (1991, June 16). Mantis. New York Observer.

Sapers, J. (1991, June 16). Whittler. New Yorker.

Temin, C. (1993, July 21). Sculptures Built on a Human Scale. Boston Globe.

Trebay, G. (1989, October 31). Machine Dreams. Village Voice,.

Zimmer, W. (1993, July 11). Wood Sculptures Make Themselves at Home at Wave Hill. New York Times.