Robert Kobayashi?s intensely nailed sculptures are a textural treat for the eyes.

Robert Kobayashi?s intensely nailed sculptures are a textural treat for the eyes. Each object radiates the inspiring spirit of an artist who blazed his own path to eventually find his home (and personal art gallery) in a former butcher shop in Little Italy. ?Moe?s Meat Market?, a selection of sculpture and a documentation of his unusual art space, is on view at Susan Inglett Gallery in New York through November 7th.
Glass Cup, 1998
Kobayashi (1925-2015) used thin metal strips cut from metal he found in Little Italy (old ceiling tin, Café Bustelo coffee cans, beer cans and more) that he painted, and nailed to wood supports. The sculptures echo the neighborhood itself ? perhaps the flower arrangements at nearby sidewalk flower shop ? and also prove a great love of Art History. Still Life in the 1930’s, 1997
Still Life in the 1930’s, 1997 (detail)
Flowers Seeking Attention, 2002
Robert Kobayashi was born in 1925 in Honolulu and served in the military during World War II. After studying at the Honolulu Academy of Art, he moved to NYC in 1950 to attend the Brooklyn Museum School of Art and was soon hired by MoMA to tend to a Japanese house and garden. He stayed on staff for more than two decades and was a regular in the gallery world ? showcasing his work at 25 solo exhibitions and countless group exhibitions. In short, Kobayashi was tightly connected and involved in the art w...