Robert G. Dodge

"The activity of making works is important to me. I work every day. It is my way of processing the world around me."
-Robert G. Dodge

Painting on paper and wood, sculpting in wood and mirrors, various woods, acrylic paint and gold leaf, Robert Dodge creates an imaginative mix of abstract styling with architectural references. By arranging colors and patterns in unique ways, Dodge attempts to avoid repeating what nature has already done.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Dodge was a professor of fine arts at Bucks County Community College from 1967 through 2005. He earned a degree in political science in 1963 and an MFA in 1966. He began working in painting but has gained recognition for sculpture as well, including winning the Rome Prize Fellowship for two years' study in Italy. Dodge has exhibited locally and nationally, including at the Michener Art Museum in Pennsylvania and the Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia. He has also had his work featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Art Matters and American Craft Magazine.

Recently, Dodge has focused on recreating and redefining the chair. He states, “I have always been interested in architecture, and by extension, furniture. The chair sculptures play off of our myriad human connections to real chairs; our own favorite chair; a dining chair, the boss' chair, the king's throne, a dental chair, a child's chair. We look at a chair and make judgments: too hard, too soft, too high, too low, too wobbly, too elegant, too big, too small, just right. The chair sculptures take on an anthropomorphic quality. With personalities of their own, they stand alone or interact in small groups; warmly dysfunctional, sometimes funny.”

In 2003, Dodge had an exhibition at the Philadelphia International Airport showcasing 500 chairs, approximately two to six inches tall. The usage of a large quantity of chairs communicates diversity to the viewer. In addition to creating full size, nonfunctional chairs, Dodge has been incorporating them into paintings. They are in a variety of positions and layers creating the illusion that there is no beginning or end, just a great, limitless expanse.

Robert Dodge's works are included in the Michener Art Museum’s new permanent installation, Intelligent Design which opened in February, 2012.

Education and Training
M.F.A. in Painting, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1966
B.F.A. in Painting, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1965
B.A. in Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1963

Connection to Bucks County
Robert Dodge is a Bucks County resident and taught at George School and the Bucks County Community College, both located in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He resides part of the year in Berlin, Germany.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Bruce Katsiff, Alan Goldstein, and wife Gwen Kerber. Robert Dodge's son, Jason Dodge is an internationally recognized artist.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Chairs: A Singular Vision, Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2003
34th Irene Leache Memorial Exhibition, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, 1998
PostPennism, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1998
Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, Delaware 1998
Clemson National Print and Drawing Exhibition, Clemson, South Carolina, 1998
Annual Fall Exhibit, Station Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware, 1996
Small Works Show, Rabit Gallery, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1996
Furniture of the '90s, ASOFA, Miami, Florida, 1995
Masks and Mirrors, Gallery 500, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1995
Craft ‘95, Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, 1995
Fall Opening Show, Station Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware, 1994
Clocks and Mirrors, Sansar Gallery, Washington D.C., 1994
Jasuta Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1994
Medici Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1993
Different Views: Shape, Pattern, Form, Maryland College of Art and Design, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1993
Ellarslie Open XII, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1993
New Abstraction, Rabbit Gallery, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1992
Furniture of the '90s, ASOFA, Houston, Texas and Parsons School of Art, New York, New York, 1992
Designers Friday, AFD/ New York School of Interior Design, New York, New York, 1991
Hicks Art Center, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1989
Walton Education Center, George School, Langhorne, Pennsylvania, 1972, 1983

Major Group Exhibitions
Intelligent Design, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2012
An Evolving Legacy: Twenty Years of Collecting at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2009-2010
Objects of Desire: Treasures from Private Collections, Michener Art Museum, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2005-2006
SAI Biennial Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2005
Wood Turning in North America since 1930, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 2001
The Art Gene: Robert and Jason Dodge, Bucks County Invitational V, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2000
Domestic Spaces, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1999
Ten Years of Collecting, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1998
Bucks County Invitational I, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1997
Faculty Exhibition, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1996
19 Artists Interpret the Clock, Sansar Gallery, Washington D.C., 1992
University of Pennsylvania Alumni Exhibit, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992
Bucks County Artist Biennial Juried Exhibition, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1992
Philadelphia Furniture, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1991
In Our Circle, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1991
Art at Friends, Newtown Friends School, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1989
Pennswood Village, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1984

Major Collections
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cicilia Crystol, New York, New York
Clapp and Eisenberg, ESQ, Newark, New Jersey
Spiro Daltus, Brown Daltus Associates, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dupont Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey
The Equitable Corporation, New York, New York
Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey
Garden State Park, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Jannsen Pharmaceutical, Washington Crossing, New Jersey
Johnson and Higgens, Carnegie Center, Princeton, New Jersey
Kraft Dairy Group, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Merck, Sharp and Dohme, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
James A. Michener, Austin, Texas
James A. Michener Art Museum entrance hall, Ground-Breaking Shovel, painted by Robert Dodge, permanent exhibitions, June 10, 1992, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Charles O. Perry, Designer, Westport, Connecticut
Pennsylvania State University, State Park, Pennsylvania
Moe Septi, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Squibb Corporation, Princeton, New Jersey
Sun Chemical Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Widener University, West Chester, Pennsylvania

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1967-2005
George School Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1966

Lectures and Workshops
Lecturer and Workshop, Chair Dialogues, Furniture Society Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, 2002
Painted Furniture, Art New England in conjunction with Massachusetts College of Art at Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont, 1991, 1992
Surface Decoration on Furniture, Peters Valley Craft Center, Peters Valley, New Jersey, 1990, 1991
Lecturer, Collaboration in Furniture, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, 1990

Major Awards
Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, 2005
Prix de Rome, Painting, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 1974-1976
Augustus Trask Ashton Scholarship, University of Pennsylvania, 1964-1966
Jay Gibson Gates Scholarship, University of Pennsylvania, 1963-1966
Gorham P. Stevens Fellowship in Sculpture, n.d.