Bio

Steve Tobin is a conceptual American artist working in steel and bronze with a history in glass and ceramics. He is best known for his monumental public sculpture installations, including the Trinity Root, which was executed after 9/11 and placed at St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan.

Over the last forty years, Tobin has mastered highly innovative techniques, applying his knowledge of science to art making. Merging scientific methods with industrial processes and recycled materials, his sculpture works defy time, gravity, and chemistry while channeling the forces of nature.

Tobin’s sculptures are exhibited in museums across the world from the United States to Europe and Asia. His works have been featured in numerous media and press publications including, CNN, Art in America, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Sculpture Magazine.

Tobin’s art studios are located in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

He was born 1957, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

Education

1979
Tulane University, B.S. Mathematics

 

Solo Exhibitions & Installations

2023
Houston Botanic Garden, Houston TX

2022
Steve Tobin: ROOTED, San Antonio Botanical Garden, San Antonio, TX

2019- 2020
Steve Tobin: UnearthedCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Boothbay, Maine

2020 – 2021
Steve Tobin: Nature UndergroundNaples Botanical Gardens
Naples, Florida

2018
Steelwaters, 5th Shanghai Jing’An International Sculpture Project (JISP), Shanghai, China

2016–PRESENT
San José Museum of Art, San José, California. Installation
Steve Tobin: Cocoon Awakenings, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania

2016–2017
Steve Tobin: Southern Roots, Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, Nashville, Tennessee
Steelroots, 4th Shanghai Jing’An International Sculpture Project (JISP), Shanghai, China

2015–2016
Exposed: The Secret Life of Roots, United States Botanic Gardens, Washington, D.C.

2014–2016
Palm Springs Museum of Art, Palm Springs, California. Installation

2014
Out of this World: Works by Steve Tobin, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown,
Pennsylvania
Steve Tobin: Roots, Museum of Art–Deland, Deland, Florida

2013
Roots on 7, Morrison Gallery, Kent, Connecticut

2012
Steve Tobin’s Natural History, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida
Aerial Roots, Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey [catalogue]
Exposed Roots, Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Vail, Colorado

2011
Steve Tobin’s Natural History, Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples Florida
Touching Earth & Sky, Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum, University of Minnesota,
Chaska, Minnesota

2010
Steelroots, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York
Steelroots, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois
Steelroots, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania

2009
Steelroots, Calgary, Canada. Permanent public installation
Steelroots, Chicago, Illinois. Public installation

2008
Steelroots, The Patricia & Philip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University,
Miami, Florida
Weeds in the Garden, Fordhook Farm of the W. Atlee Burpee Co, Doylestown,
Pennsylvania. Installation
Steelroots, Kouros Gallery, New York, New York

2007
Steelroots, 40 Years of Art in the Parks, New York Department of Parks and Recreation,
Prospect Park, Brooklyn [catalogue]
Cocoons, Philadelphia International Airport. Installation
Steelroots, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, California

2006
Steve Tobin Paintings, OK Harris Gallery, New York, New York
Exploded Earth, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California
Steelroots, Kouros Sculpture Center, Ridgefield, Connecticut

2005
Trinity Root, 9/ 11 memorial, Wall Street and Broadway, New York, New York. Installation.
Moved to Trinity Retreat Center, West Cornwall, Connecticut, 2015.
Steve Tobin Paintings, The Banana Factory, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Earth Bronzes and New Nature, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine

2004
Roots, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri. Installation
Roots, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. Installation

2003
Lantern House, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine. Permanent installation
Earth Bronzes, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine
Earth Bronzes, Florida International University, Miami, Florida. Permanent installation

2002– 2003
Naked Earth, George C. Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, California;
ancillary exhibition, at Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
Lantern House, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York

2001–2002
Earth Bronzes, Lehigh University Art Galleries and Museum, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

2001
Earth Bronze Trilogy, Part I, Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Lantern House, Marco Polo Gallery, 49th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

1999–2001
Earth Bronzes, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York;
ancillary exhibition, African Termite Mounds, Montefiore Square, West Harlem, New York
Cocoons, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York

1998
Earth Bronzes, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts. Traveled to OK Harris
Gallery, New York, New York [catalogue]
Termite Hills, Art et Industrie, New York, New York [catalogue]

1997
Broadway River, New York University, Broadway Windows, New York, New York

1996
Matzoh House, Gallery B.A.I., New York, New York

1995
Steve Tobin: Reconstructions, Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College,
Collegeville, Pennsylvania [catalogue]
Steve Tobin: Reconstructions, Peyton Wright Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Steve Tobin: Reconstructions, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona

1994
Sanske Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland
Habatat Galleries, Boca Raton, Florida

1993
Steve Tobin at Retretti, Retretti Art Centre, Punkaharju, Finland [catalogue]

1992
Carpe Diem Gallery, Paris, France
Waterglass American Craft Museum (Museum of Arts and Design), New York,
New York. Installation

1991
Lehigh University Art Museum, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Habatat Galleries, Boca Raton, Florida

1990
Cocoons, Judy Youens Gallery, Houston, Texas
Steve Tobin, Sanske Gallerie, Zürich, Switzerland

1989
Cocoons, Holsten Galleries, Palm Beach, Florida

1988
Steve Tobin: The Glass Garden, Moore College of Art and Design, Levy Gallery for the Arts,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1987
Dream Glass, Axis Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Glass for Tea Ceremony, Tazawa Gallery, Kyoto, Japan

1986
Wheaton Ware, LaVaggi Gallery, New York, New York
Glasscapes, Glass Gallery, New York, New York

1985
David Bernstein Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Manhattan Bowls, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1982
Glass Sculpture, Gallery 10, New York, New York

1980
Glass Portraits, Hanson Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
Glasscapes, Spring Street Enamels Gallery, New York, New York

1979
Sculptured Glass, Bienville Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana

 

Group Exhibitions & Installations

2014
Vanitas, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona

2008
Retrospective of the Permanent Collection, inaugural exhibition in the Museum of Art and
Design (formerly American Craft Museum), Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York

2007
Shattering Glass: New Perspectives, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York [catalogue]

2005–2007
Earth Bronzes, Spring/Summer 2005 Exhibitions, Grounds for Sculpture,
Trenton, New Jersey [catalogue].
El Bosque/The Forest, Museo Federico Silva Sculpture Park, San Luis Potos., Mexico.
Traveled throughout Mexico and the United States [catalogue]

2000
Roots, Vancouver International Sculpture Project, Vancouver, Canada [catalogue]
Exploded Clay with Glass Riverbed, Americans in Venice Exhibition, American Craft
Museum (Museum of Arts and Design) NewYork, New York [catalogue]

1994
Alene Lapides Gallery, Sante Fe, New Mexico
Waterworks, Palm Beach Community College Museum of Art, Lake Worth, Florida
Robert Morris Gallery, New York, New York

1993
From Our Vault, Wustum Museum, Racine, Wisconsin

1991
Friends of Birdyland, Carpe Diem Gallery, Paris, France
Le verre, Espace Duchamp-Villon, Rouen, France

1990
Glass Doesn’t Grow in the Forest, St. Augustine Chapel, Belgium

1989
Glass America, Heller Gallery, New York, New York (also 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993)

1986
em>Southern Studio Glass, Traveled to Kingsport, Tennessee; Ashville, North Carolina;
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Tokyo, Japan

1984
Pilchuck Glass, Travor Sutton Gallery, Seattle, Washington

1983
Southern Glass, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Roanoke, Virginia

1981
National Art Glass, Del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, California

1980
Liquid Color, Elizabeth Fortner Gallery, San Francisco, California
selected museum and public collections

 

Museum and Public Collections

Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA

America Center, Helsinki, Finland

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

American Museum of Glass, Millville, New Jersey

Boca Raton Museum of Art, Mizner Park, Boca Raton, Florida

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

City of Calgary, Canada

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine

Coca-Cola Corporation Collection, Atlanta, Georgia

CSC Global, Wilmington, Delaware

Florida International University, Miami, Florida

Fordhook Farms, Doylestown, Pennsyvlania

Frost Art Museum, Miami, Florida

Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, Naples, Florida

Gratz College, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey

James A. Michener Museum of Art, Doylestown, Pennsylvania

J’ing’An Sculpture Project (JISP), Shanghai, China

Karl Stirner Arts Trail, Easton, Pennsylvania

King Faisal’s Palace, Saudi Arabia

Lehigh University Museum of Art, Lehigh, Pennsylvania

Lowe Art Museum, Miami, Florida

Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland

Museum of American Glass, Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, Millville, New Jersey

Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York, New York

National September 11 th Memorial and Museum, New York, New York

New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana

Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Retretti Art Centre, Punkaharju, Finland

The Sculpture Foundation Collection

Stephane Janssen Collection, Phoenix, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio

The White House Permanent Art Collection, Washington, D.C

 

Selected Permanent Collections

National September Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center

Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA

American Center, Helsinki, Finland

Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY

American Glass Museum, Millville, NJ

Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, ME

Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO

Frost Art Museum, FIU, FL

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA

Coca-Cola Corporation, Atlanta, GA

Finair, Helskinki, Finland

Gratz College, Philadelphia, PA

King Faisal’s Palace, Saudi Arabia

Lowe Art Museum, Miami, FL

Musee des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland

New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinis College, Collegeville, PA

Retretti Museum; Punkaharju, Finland

State Museum, Harrisburg, PA

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ

Stephane Janssen Collection, Santa Fe, NM

The White House, Washington, D.C.

List of Media

Art in America Inside Back Cover, September 2022

Fox Business | Mornings with Maria Bartaromo, July 2022

San Antonio Magazine Cover (with Twisties), July 2022

Wise Fool Podcast, Czeck Republic, December 2021

American Alliance of Museums, feature, February 2021

ARTnews, back cover, Winter 2020 – 2021

eBELLA magazine, cover, December 2020

New York Times, feature (James Barron) April 2017

Artnet News, feature, April 2017

NY Daily News, feature, April 2017

The Daily Mail, feature, April 2017

Artforum, feature, April 2017

Sculpture magazine, feature, Summer 2017

New York Times, feature (James Barron), April 2017

New York Times, feature (James Barron), July 2016

Wall Street Journal, feature, August 2015

Wall Street Journal, feature, December 2015

The Philadelphia Inquirer, feature, July 2014

Huffington Post, feature, April 2013

The Times of Princeton, NJ, front page, August 2011

ARTnews, review, November 2011

Life in Naples magazine, feature, November 2011

Naples Daily News, feature, November 2011

On View magazine, feature, November 2011

Happenings magazine, cover story, November 2011

artdaily.org, feature, March 2011

Celebrated Living magazine (for American Airlines premium class passengers), feature, Summer 2010

Chicago Tribune, feature, April 2010

Chicago Daily Herald, feature, April 2010

Town & Country magazine, feature, special travel issue, April 2010

Chicago Tribune, feature, April 2010

Chicago Sun-Times, feature, April 2010

Chicago Tribune, feature, April 2010

Chicago Herald, feature, April 2010

The New York Sun, photo with caption, October 2007

New York Times, feature, December 2007

The New York Post, feature, November 2007

Gallery Guide, feature, 2006

Lifescapes West Coast Art + Design, feature, May 2006

New York Times, feature (Sewell Chan), 2006

Art in America, review, June/July 2006

New York Metro, feature, September 2005

NY Newsday, image with caption, September 2005

National Geographic magazine, feature, August 2005

Philadelphia Inquirer, feature, July 2005

The New York Sun, photo with caption, September 2005

The Battery Park City Broadsheet, photo with caption, September 2005

The Living Church, cover story, September 2005

Sculpture magazine, image with caption, December 2005

New York Times, feature (Randy Kennedy), July 2005

New York One, feature, September 2005

CNN, 3 part special feature on Trinity Root, September 2005

New York Daily News, feature, September 2005

New York Daily News, photo with caption, September 2005

The Battery Park City Broadsheet, photo with caption, September 2005

Smithsonian magazine, feature story, June 2004

Chicago Tribune, feature, May 2004

South County Times, St. Louis, feature, April 2004

Chicago Sun Times, photo with caption, May 2004

Landscape Architecture magazine, feature, April 2004

Los Angeles Times, feature, October 2002

The Riverside Press-Enterprise (SoCal), feature, October 2002

Christian Science Monitor, feature, October 2002

New York Times, feature (Roberta Smith), July 2001

Sculpture magazine, feature, March 2001

Natural History magazine (AMNH), photo with caption, May 2001

Ceramics Monthly, cover story, March 2001

The Philadelphia Inquirer, feature, November 2000

Newsweek, feature, November 2000

New York Times, feature (Kelly Crow), November 2000

The Philadelphia Inquirer, feature, November 2000

Philadelphia magazine, feature, March 1999

People magazine, feature, June 1998

The Boston Globe, feature, January 1998

The Philadelphia Inquirer, feature, May 1998

Art in America, review, September 1998

Gallery Guide, cover story, Summer 1998

Inside magazine, feature, Spring 1997

Glass magazine, cover story, Winter 1996

The Morning Call, feature, 1996