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Robert Hicks was born in 1941 in Williston, North Dakota. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California (1967-70), and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (1971-73) before moving to Lethbridge, Alberta in 1976. Robert Hicks held a number of teaching positions during his career, including stints at the University of Washington, Lethbridge Community College and the University of Lethbridge Continuing Education Department, before taking a position as Assistant Professor of Art, teaching Drawing, Advanced Studio, Sculpture and Foundation/Design at the University of Lethbridge in 1986. His work was shown widely throughout Canada and the US, and is represented in numerous public and private collections in Canada, the United States, Japan and Europe.
Primarily known as a sculptor, Robert Hicks also painted and made drawings as well as jewellery. For his sculpture, he often used natural materials which he combined to create usually small-scale assemblages that expressed an often mysterious, ritual presence. Speaking about his influences, the artist said “I have stood on the prairie in the middle of a teepee ring and felt the influence and 'magic' of that container's foundation – the circle of stones, a remnant of a form changed. This experience is reflected in my works.”
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