Robin L. Bernstein
New 48 Hills Interview

Read the 48 Hills interview

Robin L. Bernstein Next Solo Exhibiton 
Scheduled March 6 - April 19, 2025

More about Robin Bernstein's past solo exhibitions at Transmission Gallery:
Beauty and Terror
Beauty and Terror, Pt. 2​

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At first glance, these artworks defy a clear medium and process. They appear to be embroidered or woven, made of mosaic, painted, or sewn. The colors are rich and the forms are attractive. They are “beautiful”. The viewer is inclined to step very close to examine the surface. The subject matter then becomes viscerally apparent. A paragraph of text accompanies each piece, which retells the horrific act of violence and terror that the artwork memorializes. Each piece is an example of how people will behave under set conditions. Many of these particular pieces refer to lesser-known Holocaust crimes. Much of the string that is used is vintage and originated in Europe. Each piece is composed of thousands of tiny cut pieces of string that have been pressed into a bed of wax and brushed onto cut plywood. Each work takes between 4 and 6 months to create.

More about Robin L. Bernstein
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Past Exhibitions at Transmission Gallery:
​Read the 48 Hills interview with Mary Corbin
Beauty and Terror, Part 1,  June 7- July 20, 2019
Review: DeWitt Cheng for EastBay Express, July 2019
Read the text that accompanied the work in Beauty and Terror

Biography

Robin L. Bernstein was born in St Louis, Missouri into a distinctly non-artistic family. Luckily, music was played and encouraged which lay the groundwork for creative, visual expression.

Bernstein studied Art in St Paul, MN, Champaign-Urbana, IL, and San Francisco, CA, before settling in Emeryville and Canyon, CA. She earned her MFA in Painting and Drawing but upon discovering wood construction began to combine woodcarvings with thinly cut sheet metal, hammered together with thousands of tiny escutcheon pins. Years later, and along a similarly obsessive vein, she began pressing colored string into wax after learning about the Huichol Indians and their spiritual practices in Central Mexico.

Robin’s current subject matter combined with her artistic technique is her way of shouting from the rooftops: those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Human behavior being highly predictable, after all. Robin and her husband have two children, now young adults.
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Selection of Exhibitions

• 2022 Yarn/Rope/String, FiberArtNow, July 2022 Issue, www.fiberartnow.net
• (upcoming Dec-June 2023) Yarn, Rope, String at the New Bedford Museum of Art, juried exhibition, New Bedford, MA
• Fiberart International 2022, The Brewhouse Association and Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
• Art Talk, Demo, and Workshop sponsored by The FiberArts Guild and The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
• Beauty and Terror, Transmission Gallery and Mission College, An exhibition of the complete series in Oakland and Santa Clara, CA
• 2021 #art #activism, Mission College, Vargas Gallery, Santa Clara, California, https://missioncollegegallery.weebly.com
• 2020 Beauty and Terror, solo show and Artist Talk, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, Ca
• De Young Open, juried group exhibition, De Young Museum, San Francisco, Ca
• EmeryArts 34th 2020, the plague year, A Fantastic Ekphrastic Art and Poetry compilation
• funded by Rotten City Cultural Arts District and the California Arts Council
• Invitational Drawing Residency, 3 weeks, Tomlinhill Farms, Columbia, Missouri
• Pop Up Show at SFJCC Yom Hashoah Memorial Ceremony, San Francisco, CA - postponed due to Covid-19
• 1993 - 2021 Emeryville Celebration of the Arts, Emeryville, CA, https://emeryarts.org/
• 2019 Beauty and Terror, solo exhibition and Artist Talk, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA
• Mirka Knaster Art Blog, What is Art For? https://mirkaart.com/exploringtheheartofit
• Content Writing by Lenore Weiss: Robin Bernstein’s Beauty and Terror, http://www.lenoreweiss.com/
• 2017 Renegade Fiber, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA, https://marinmoca.org/exhibitions/2017/
• 2016 Artists Rendezvous Art Talk, Emeryville, CA, Beauty and Terror: The Tyranny of the Witness
• A Commentary on the Rise of Trump 70 years after Hitler
• We are the Bridge Invitational and We are the Bridge Interfaith Art Biennial
• Osher Marin and the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Oakland, CA, https://www.interfaithart.org/news/tag/we%20are%20the%20bridge, https://www.interfaithart.org/news/we-are-the-bridge-exhibition-at-the-marin-jcc
• 2006 See Jane Run, Contemporary Art about Childhood, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA, http://www.bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/past/see-jane-run
• 1989 - 2002 Modesto Junior College Faculty Exhibitions, Modesto, CA
• 2002 Robin Bernstein Solo Exhibition, College of the Redwoods, Arcata, CA
• 2000 Murals and Miniatures, Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
• 1999 Matrix Gallery, 2 Person Exhibition, Sacramento, CA
• 1997 West Coast Painting and Sculpture, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA, https://oma-online.org/past_exhibitions1995-1997/westcoast-1997/
• Robin Bernstein, Kennedy Art Center, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA
• 1996 Concerning Wood, Joan Roebuck Gallery, Lafayette, CA
• 1993 Works on Paper, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
• Constructure, College of Marin, San Raphael, CA
  

Gallery Representation

• Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA https://thetransmissiongallery.com/index.html

Teaching Experience

• 1989-2002 Modesto Junior College , Fine Art Faculty and Gallery Director, Drawing, Printmaking, Gallery Operations and Management, Modesto, CA
• 2005 -2018. The Renaissance International School , Visual Arts Faculty, Elementary and Junior High, Oakland, CA
• 2011 - Present ArtMakers Studio School, Founder and Senior Instructor in all media including Stop Motion Animation, Age 6 - Adult, Emeryville, CA

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