Robert Bangiola is an artist based in Hudson, New York. For decades, he has worked primarily with trees, assembling trunks and branches into open structures.
A career veteran of arts management, including stints at Bard College, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Disney, and The U.S. Department of State, Bangiola has been creating and installing his work in the Hudson Valley since 2017. His inspiration emerged from childhood experiences, playing in the woods near his family’s home, creating tiny, imaginary landscapes out of bits of moss and twigs. Bangiola describes his installations as gateways between humans and the untamed outdoors.
Artist Statement
Pieces, installed in natural settings, evoke feelings of sanctuary, ceremony, and mystery. Exploring tree trunks of al sizes as a medium, his structures can be familiar--resembling pergolas, burial scaffolds, and wedding canopies--and at the same time mystical. His work beckons us to look closer and, in doing so, experience the natural world through a portal that is both organic and carefully balanced.
“For a long time I called my sculptures sketches because that’s what they look like in an open landscape. But they are three-dimensional and change shape depending on where you stand. They frame a unique relationship with nature. The way in which the elements are chosen, prepared, and assembled is an expression of balance and harmony.
People are always curious and find them intriguing, approachable. When they stand inside, they forget for a minute that they're in nature and they’re comfortable