Robert Mickelsen
Robert Mickelsen
Born in 1951 in Fort Belvoir , Virginia and raised in Honolulu , Hawaii , Robert’s formal education ended after one year of college. He apprenticed with a professional lampworker for two years in the mid-seventies and then sold his own designs at outdoor craft fairs for ten years. In 1987 he took a class from Paul Stankard that opened his eyes to the possibilities of his medium. In 1989, he stopped doing craft shows and began marketing his work exclusively through galleries. Since then, his career has taken off. He shows his work in some of the finest galleries in the country and participates in prominent exhibitions each year. His work is exhibited in many prominent collections including the Renwick Gallery of American Crafts at the Smithsonian Institution, the Corning Museum of Glass, The Toledo Museum of Art, The Museum of Arts and Design, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Mint Museum, The Cleveland Museum of Art, and The Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Village.
He has taught extensively at the major glass schools including the Pilchuck Glass School , Penland School of Crafts, The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, and The Pittsburgh Glass Center. He has published numerous technical and historical articles on flameworked glass. He served for six years on the board of directors of the Glass Art Society and was their treasurer and vice-president.
The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
The Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
The Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
The Carnegie-Mellon Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
The Mint Museum, Wash. DC
Kentucky Museum of Arts and Craft
The Lampwork Museum in Kobe Japan
Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition – 1992, 1993
Sculpture Objects and Functional Art (SOFA), Chicago, Illinois – 1994, 1997 – 2008
William Traver Gallery, Seattle WA : 17th Annual International Pilchuck Exhibition – 1994
Habatat Gallery, Pontiac Michigan : International Lampworked Glass Exhibition – 1994
Glass Lover’s Weekend, Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ – 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011
Belvetro – Miami Beach, Florida – Solo Show – 1995, 1997
Sculptural Objects and Functional Art (SOFA), Miami Beach, Florida – 1996, 1997
Society for Arts and Crafts – Boston, Massachusetts – Out of the Flame – 1996
Gallery Lara – Chicago, Illinois – Solo Show – 1996
Craft Alliance – St. Louis, Missouri – Survey: Flameworking ‘97
Miller Gallery – New York City, New York – Flameworking Show – 1997, 1999
Vespermann Gallery – Atlanta, Georgia – Solo Show – 1997
Philabaum Glass Gallery – Tucson, Arizona – Regions of the Flame – 1997
Tucson Art Museum – Tucson Arizona – Calido! – 1997
Miller Gallery – New York City, New York – Figurative Show – 1997, 1998, 1999
Habatat Gallery – Pontiac, Michigan – International Glass Invitational – 1998
Mostly Glass – Englewood, New Jersey – Toffolo/Mickelsen – Ethereal Glass I, II – 1998, 2000
Center of the Earth – Charlotte, North Carolina – VISTAS IV – A Glass Invitational – 1998, 1999
Stones Gallery – San Francisco, California – Dreamscapes in Glass – Flamework Invitational – 1998
Wheaton Village – Millville, NJ – The Human Form in Allegory, Metaphor, and Myth – 1998
Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery – Pittsburgh, PA – Flameworking Show – 1998
Cool Arts at The Gallery – Corning, New York – Solo Show – 1998, 2001
Habatat Gallery – Boca Raton, Florida – International Invitational Show – 1994 – 2010
ERL Originals – Winston-Salem, North Carolina – Solo show – 1999, 2001
Gallerie Dorita – Atlanta, Georgia – Joint Show with Cesare Toffolo – 1999
Kane-Marie Gallery, Virginia Beach, Virginia – Solo show – 1999
Contemporary Museum of Art at First Hawaiian Center – Honolulu, Hawaii – Solo Show – 2000
Habatat Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida – Solo Show – 2001, 2008
Mostly Glass Gallery, Englewood, NJ – Solo Show – 2004
Habatat Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida – Group Show with Paul Stankard, Kari Russell-Pool, and Janis Miltenberger – 2005
Boca Raton Museum of Art -“Glass Act – The Contemporary Studio Glass Art Movement Turns 50” – 2012
Orlando Museum of Art – “Contemporary Glass Sculpture: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Studio Glass” – 2012 – 2013
Center on Contemporary Art (COCA) – Seattle, WA – “Ceci N’est Pas Une Pipe” – 2013
Habatat Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL – Solo show: “Weapons of Peace” – 2015
