Explore Thought-Provoking Ceramic Sculptures at New Exhibition at Cultural Council for Palm Beach County
Posted by: Linnea Bailey
November 22, 2024
‘HumanUnity’ examines sculptural artist Debra Robert’s experience of living with multiple sclerosis, capturing her journey from disciplined structures to playful, semi-abstract figures
LAKE WORTH BEACH, FL — Through clay, Lake Worth Beach-based sculptural artist Debra Robert investigates core human truths and experiences that all humans share.
Formerly a technical and creative designer for large-scale live productions, Roberts now creates intricate ceramic works of all sizes that externalize her private thoughts, embarrassing truths, frustrations, and hopes while coping with multiple sclerosis.
Roberts’ exhibition HumanUnity will take place at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County’s Gayle and Paul Gross Gallery from December 6 through January 11, 2025. Free and open to the public, hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. All work in the exhibition is available for purchase.
Ranging from disciplined abstract forms to biomorphic expressions and playful, humanistic figures from 9 inches to over 5 feet high, HumanUnity explores the idea that the more we see ourselves, the more we can see through to one another.
“This exhibition explores all that we hold internally,” Robert said. “When we look past sexuality, nationality and other perceived differences, down to the core, we all have hidden worlds. It’s one of our greatest human truths.”
The culmination of 12 years of work, this exhibition takes guests on a journey through Robert’s creative evolution over time. The exhibition is meant to encourage guests to consider their own journeys and the trillions of unique, hidden journeys that encompass the singular shared experience of humankind. HumanUnity will feature three-dimensional sculptures of varying sizes — meant to be observed from all angles — as well as a six-foot wall installation.
“Debra Robert’s creations are otherworldly and yet also accessible, unique in both form and decoration,” said Jessica Ransom, the Council’s director of artist services and curator of the exhibition. “The works showcase an artist who is sure of her craft and has a vision unlike any other.”
Robert’s diagnosis in her 40s led her to ceramic work and the expansive style she has become known for. With smooth, biomorphic ceramic surfaces, Roberts maps out the hidden processes of her own mind, exposing it for all to see. The tremors in her hands become an essential part of her surface treatment with a technique she developed firing multiple layers of glaze with smudged and drawn underglaze pencil and crayon. By exposing her private, inner workings, she gives commonality to the concept ‘we are all alone, together.’
Selected through a highly competitive application process, Robert is one of six Palm Beach County-based professional artists whose work was chosen by a committee of visual art professionals for one of the Cultural Council’s coveted Gayle and Paul Gross Gallery solo exhibition spots during its 2024-2025 season.
Robert holds a master’s degree from Florida State University, with postgraduate work at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is a Juried Signature Fine Artist with the Boca Museum of Art in Boca Raton. Locally, her work has been seen in exhibitions at the Cultural Council, Hatch 1121’s CommUnity Exhibition (Best of Show), the Armory Art Center’s Armory Artist Show (Best in Show, Best Sculpture), the Lighthouse ArtCenter and the Artists’ Guild Gallery.
Her works have been displayed at the International Consortium of MS Centers in New Jersey and published on the cover of the International Journal of MS Care (V22, Issue 3) and in the 2022 Annual Art Showcase, Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA).
Debra Robert: HumanUnity will run from December 6 through January 11 at the Cultural Council’s headquarters in Lake Worth Beach. Visit palmbeachculture.com for more information or to register for the opening artist reception on Thursday, December 5, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; to RSVP, visit palmbeachculture.com/robert. To see more of her work, visit www.debrarobert.com.
About the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County
The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County is the official support agency for arts and culture in The Palm Beaches, Florida’s Cultural Capital®. Headquartered in the historic Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. building in Downtown Lake Worth Beach, the Council presents exciting year-round exhibitions and performances featuring artists who live or work in Palm Beach County. The Council features spectacular work by Palm Beach County-based professional artisans in its Roe Green Uniquely Palm Beach Store and offers complimentary resources for visitors in its Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Information Center. The Council is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information and a comprehensive calendar of cultural events in The Palm Beaches, visit palmbeachculture.com.
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Media Contact:
Linnea Bailey (561) 713-0673
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Calendar item:
Exhibition: Debra Robert: HumanUnity — December 6, 2024 – January 11, 2025
Debra Robert’s ceramic sculptures externalize her private thoughts, embarrassing truths, frustrations, and hopes while coping with multiple sclerosis. Ranging from disciplined abstract forms to biomorphic expressions and playful, humanistic figures from 9 inches to over 5 feet high, HumanUnity explores the idea that the more we see ourselves, the more we can see through to one another. This free public solo exhibition will take place in the Gayle and Paul Gross Gallery at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, located in The Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. Building at 601 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Call (561) 471-2901 or visit palmbeachculture.com.