Dario Robleto was born in San Antonio in 1972 and currently lives and works in Houston. He received his B.F.A. from the University of Texas, San Antonio, in 1997 and in 1996 attended the Summer School of Music and Art at Yale University.
Robleto's solo exhibitions include Dario Robleto: Alloy of Love, Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York (2008); Fear and Tenderness in Men, D'Amelio Terras, New York (2006); Dario Robleto: Chrysanthemum Anthems, Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Greensboro (2006); Say Goodbye to Substance, Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria, New York (2003); Dario Robleto: A Surgeon, A Scalpel and A Soul, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2003); I Thought I Knew Negation Until You Said Goodbye, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (2001); and Your Cheeks Have Lost Their Luster, Inman Gallery, Houston (l999).
Group exhibitions include The Old, Weird America, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (2008); Human/Nature, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2008); NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith, The Menil Collection, Houston (2008); Soundwaves: The Art of Sampling, MCASD La Jolla (2007); Ahistoric Occasion: Artists Making History, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams (2006); Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2004); Shelf Life, Gasworks, London (2001); and One Planet Under a Groove, Bronx Museum (2001).
Photo of Dario Robleto by Dr. J Caldwell
artist links:
Inman Gallery ACME Portrait of an artist in demand Alloy of Love Greil Marcus on "Lion or Lamb" Trevor on Robleto: Mini-podcast
"Sometimes Billie Is All That Holds Me Together," 1998–99.
Hand-ground and melted vinyl records, various clothing, acrylic, spray paint. Several new buttons were crafted from melted Billie Holiday records to replace missing buttons on found, abandoned, or thrift store clothing.
After the discarded clothing was made whole again, it was redonated to the thrift stores or placed back where it was originally found. Dimensions variable. Private collection, New York. Courtesy of Edward Boyer Associates, Inc., Fine Art Advisory. Image courtesy of the artist and Inman Gallery, Houston. Photo: Dr. J Caldwell.
Dario Robleto, "Untitled (Patsy Spool)," 1998-99
Vinyl record, iron pyrite (fool's gold), glue
Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" 45rpm vinyl record was slowly sliced along outer rim until reaching center then connected into one long thread and spooled.
1.5 x 1 x 1 inches. Collection of Eileen Harris Norton, Santa Monica. Courtesy of the artist and Inman Gallery, Houston. Photo by Thomas R. DuBrock.
Dario Robleto, "There's An Old Flame Burning In Your Eyes, or, Why Honky Tonk Love Is The Saddest Kind Of Love," 1998
Altered matches, match box, hand-ground and melted vinyl records, paint
Vinyl records by Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams, Tammy Wynette, and others were ground into powder, then melted and coated onto the head of each match. Boxes of these altered matches were laid on bars in several honkytonks around town, waiting for their chance to go out in flames.
5 x 2 x 1 inches. Collection of Tom Healy and Fred Hochberg, New York. Courtesy of the artist and Inman Gallery, Houston. Photo by Ansen Seale.
Dario Robleto, "Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica" (installation) 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange, 2009.1.1A-C. Courtesy of the artist and D'Amelio Terras, New York.
Dario Robleto, "Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica" (detail) 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange, 2009.1.1A-C. Courtesy of the artist and D'Amelio Terras, New York.
Dario Robleto, "Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica" (detail) 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange, 2009.1.1A-C. Courtesy of the artist and D'Amelio Terras, New York.
Dario Robleto, "Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica" (detail) 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange, 2009.1.1A-C. Courtesy of the artist and D'Amelio Terras, New York.
Dario Robleto, "Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica" (detail) 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange, 2009.1.1A-C. Courtesy of the artist and D'Amelio Terras, New York.
Exhibition organizer Trevor Schoonmaker, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum, on Dario Robleto's "Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica."
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