Robin Antar
Artist Bio
American sculptor Robin Antar tells stories in stone. Over a career spanning more than four decades, she has developed two parallel yet intertwining bodies of work: hyper-realistic carvings of everyday objects that immortalize icons of American pop culture, and expressionist stone forms that embody deeply personal narratives of trauma, healing, and resilience.
Born in Atlantic City in 1957 and raised in Brooklyn, Antar began carving stone as a teenager, discovering both a calling and an emotional lifeline. In 1998, she launched her Realism in Stone series, returning to a technique she first developed in the 1980s, including a custom tinting process to replicate the colors of real objects. From Skechers boots to Oreo cookies, Dr. Martens, hamburgers and fries, to a four-foot Ball Park frank, these meticulously crafted works capture the humor, nostalgia, and contradictions of American life. Following the September 11 attacks, Antar’s sculptures turned toward collective grief, with works like North Tower 9/11—an 800-pound marble bag spilling M&Ms—now regarded as one of her most poignant pieces.
Antar’s expressionist works explore equally profound themes, particularly through her series of stone knots, which symbolize human struggle and perseverance. David’s Knot in Flames, carved from a 1,500-pound block of Turkish marble and permanently installed at Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York, serves as a tribute to her late son and exemplifies her commitment to transforming personal grief into collective healing.
Her honors include the Wynn Newhouse Grant, the Allied Artists of America Gold Medal of Honor, the Margo Harris Hammerschlag Award from the National Association of Women Artists, and inclusion in 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow (Thames & Hudson, Kurt Beers). Her work has been exhibited in major venues including Sotheby’s, The Butler Institute of American Art, and The National Arts Club, and has been featured by The Huffington Post, New York Post, Fox News, and NY1, among others.
Antar continues to carve from her studio in Long Branch, NJ, creating works that observe and record cultural and personal histories in stone.