Robert Leaver

Artist Statement

I am disheartened by the dominance and limitations of abstract thinking and language. I am an enthusiastic participant and supporter of all forms of direct experience. With art, I am engaged by the stimulation of my five senses. In my own art, I find and/or make and combine objects that have their own smells, tastes, sounds and feelings. I delight in experiencing those qualities and trying to assemble the objects in such ways that the experience will be suggested to others. For me, beauty is that which sparks me to experience more, "to climb the mountain," as Thomas Mann said, or, as I urge my students, "to risk and grow."