Hi folks, In addition to book signing at Butte College, I will have a release October 20th at the Barnes & Noble in Chico, 2031 Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guests can meet with artists and get their copy of Kiss of the Art Gods signed. Two large sculptures will also be on view at the signing.

The Butte College Art Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition by Chico artist Dan Corbin. The exhibition will be on display from October 1 – November 1, 2018, in the Butte College Art Gallery. An opening reception will take place on Thursday, October 18, 2018, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Dan Corbin’s newly published book, Kiss of the Art Gods: A Thirty-year Art Journey, will be available for purchase and signing also at the opening reception Thursday, Oct. 18, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

Dan Corbin’s recent works including nine figurative sculptures and thirteen figurative paintings will be present in this show. Originally working out of a studio in Chico in the 90’s, Corbin is represented in collections across the country and around the world. A well-traveled sculpture from Dan Corbin’s figurative show at the Fresno Art Museum was recently placed in a Stockholm, Sweden collection. In the 90’s, Corbin’s career gained traction with a juried award at the Crocker Kingsley Museum (they now have one of his figurative pieces in their permanent collection) that was followed by a one-man show at the Redding Art Museum. In 1996 he had a one-man show in New York. After that exhibition, he says, “There was a demand for my work.” Corbin’s work stresses a convergence of the old with the new. A quote from his memoir, Kiss of the Art Gods, drives this point home when he comically describes his work, “Rodin meets an Australian aboriginal conceptualist and they began having kids.” Corbin’s work showcases a mastery of materials, textures, colors, and techniques. He considers his greatest compliment a nickname given to him by a fellow artist, “The Surface King.”

Please join us in celebrating Dan Corbin and the water and fire that have marked the life journey of this figurative sculptor.

The Butte College Art Gallery is located on the main Butte College campus, 3536 Campus Drive, in the new ARTS Building (ARTS 106) closest to parking lot 3. Gallery hours are Monday – 9:00-3:30, Tuesday – 9:00-2:00, Wednesday – 9:00-3:30, Thursday 9:00 – 2:00. For more information, contact the Butte College Department of Art, Digital Art & Design, 530-895-2404.

This event is ADA compliant. Anyone requiring a specific accommodation or adjustment should contact Simone Senat no later than five (5) business days prior to this event. Contact can be made by calling 530-895-2404 or via email to senatsi@butte.edu.

Here is a video trailer for the recently published edition of my memoir Kiss of the Art Gods available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
https://youtu.be/IhI7_GGbbNo

Dan Corbin’s memoir Kiss of the Art Gods: a sculptor’s art journey, has been published by Gatekeeper Press. The most asked question is where can I buy a copy and how do I leave a review? The updated and revised edition is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. The memoir is also available at your local B&N store but you first must call up and order a copy. To leave a review go online to Dan Corbin’s author’s page to purchase a paperback, after reading leave a 25-80 word no sweat review. If you liked the book give it a five-star rating. More information and 6-minute video book trailer at kissoftheartgods.com.

Dan Corbin's memoir Kiss of the Art Gods: A thirty-year art journey has been published, and reviewed by North State Public Radio. The one-hour radio interview hosted by Nancy Wiegman, her program called Nancy's Bookshelf, can be heard by clicking on this enclosed link Nancy's Bookshelf: Dan Corbin. Nancy asks questions pertaining to the memoir and Dan Corbin describes, illustrates, and interprets his memoir in this one hour interview. The memoir is available in paperback and ebooks at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Barnes and Noble bookstores everywhere upon request. For more information, links, and reviews, go to to memoir's official website: kissoftheartgods.com.

Chico Enterprise Record: Book review by Dan Barnett, Book Columnist

Water and fire have marked the life journey of figurative sculptor Dan Corbin. He worked out of a studio in Chico in the ’90s where he began to establish himself as a living artist who could actually make a living from his art. Represented in galleries across the country, Corbin has specialized in creating life-sized sculptures of the female form.

His work is at once industrial and sensual. “An art analogy of my new sculpture style goes as follows: Rodin meets an Australian aboriginal conceptualist, and they began having kids.”

There is no straight line from growing up in the ’50s on a peach orchard in the Yuba City area to becoming a successful studio artist. The intriguing and passionate story is told in “Kiss Of The Art Gods: Memoir Of A Sculptor” ($15.95 in paperback from Barnes & Noble also for Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/1619846594. Corbin’s website (kissoftheartgods.com) features a gallery of his work.

The great flood came in 1955, inundating the ranch, drawing a line between an idyllic family life and the unraveling of that family in the years to come. After the flood, 10-year-old Dan discovered an encyclopedia article on sculpture.

“Looking back now, fifty years later,” he writes, “I believe something mystical happened to me on that day.” “Art,” he adds, “is the nearest thing we have for getting it right and keeping it real.”

That leads to the Art Gods. “I believe these gods reside in our bodies, in our minds, or in our DNA as agents of cultural progress, social bonding, and peaceful change.”

The Art Gods give short shrift to the dilettante, to the puffed-up person who dismisses his mentors. From Reno to Hawaii, San Francisco to Chico, the lesson took a long time to learn. There were brawls, booze, babes; and typhoid fever.

At long last he listened. He saw that firing clay sculptures produced incredibly fragile work, that his art demanded a different medium. The Art Gods smiled: “When the Art Gods think you can carry the torch of social change, only then do they give you their cherished blessing.”

It’s a heartfelt meditation on the Art Gods reclaiming a wayward son.

Biblio File

Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Send review requests to dbarnett99@me.com. Columns archived at http://dielbee.blogspot.com.

Corbin's memoir Kiss of the Art Gods chronicles his 30-year art journey to become a figurative sculptor. Here's what folks have already said about the book:
“Wonderful” … “Beautiful” … “Honest” … “Heartfelt”
“The book is an interesting read…and ultimately simply beautiful.” “A tribute to the buoyancy of the human spirit.”
“Corbin’s memoir infused with humor, features an unforgettable heart- rendering authenticity of life’s pivotal moments.” “A fresh look at American culture … skillfully delivered by the chisel of a master.”
“Corbin pulls back the curtain to reveal the life of the artist.” Gain entry into artists’ impulses and aspirations. Take an unfiltered glimpse of the contemporary art world. “The charm of the memoir lies in its simple but evocative language appealing to all readers and backgrounds.”
A youthful Dan Corbin is simultaneously dazzled by art and traumatized by a family disaster. Both forces merge, to propel Dan on his long journey to become a successful figurative sculptor.
“Corbin’s memoir is not a leisurely picturesque art voyage, but a rough and tumble discovery of his inner self.”
“His incredible sensory memories truly put you in the scene with him.” “You can touch and feel the characters… listen to them babble, and smell the Hawaiian orchids… the book is so well written.”
“Corbin’s power is conjuring life from broken things… he beats it into a new thing something beautiful.”
“A hard-hitting expose not just for artists but all humanity.”
For full reviews https://kissoftheartgods.com/reviews/.
Dan now lives and works in Northern California. He has written his memoir, sharing lifelong experiences, personal emotions, and the inner-workings of a humanity he loves, the contemporary art world.

Friends, artists and book lovers I’m offering the Ebook copy of my memoir for $2.00, a thirty-day special at Amazon.com to entice reviews. If you like the book please leave a review. You can preorder now at Kiss of the Art Gods Ebook. The paper back is still reasonable at $16 and will be available after release date on May 2 Kiss of the Art Gods Paperback . To see what people have already said, see reviews below or go to https://kissoftheartgods.com/reviews/.

Amazon Book Description:
Contemporary figurative sculptors rarely support themselves, but in steps Dan Corbin, breaking all the rules on his way to becoming a successful studio artist. Corbin takes two decades to realize his art dream. He makes the usual sacrifices, travels the world, seeks out art education, finds and loses love. So why is the outcome of his narrative so different? Corbin’s enigmas are revealed in this humor-leveled portrait of a man full of energy, propelled by a distressed childhood, seeking a higher calling, and intent on full redemption. Raised in California, Corbin reinvents himself in a life filled with risk and adventure. An army stint in Germany began his thirst for travel, living in Spain, Santa Barbara, Hawaii, and Berkeley. This enables Corbin to learn more about himself and others, as he cobbles together an eclectic belief system based on mysticism, faith and science, and then attempts to develop an art style capable of expressing his new sense of self. Corbin’s long journey is sometimes hilarious and grueling. He searches inside and out and in every direction for the lost answers but ultimately finds the resolution in plain sight.

Contemporary figurative sculptors rarely support themselves, but in steps Dan Corbin, breaking all the rules on his way to becoming a successful studio artist. Corbin takes two decades to realize his art dream. He makes the usual sacrifices, travels the world, seeks out art education, finds and loses love. So why is the outcome of his narrative so different? Corbin’s enigmas are revealed in this humor-leveled portrait of a man full of energy, propelled by a distressed childhood, seeking a higher calling, and intent on full redemption. Raised in California, Corbin reinvents himself in a life filled with risk and adventure. An army stint in Germany began his thirst for travel, living in Spain, Santa Barbara, Hawaii, and Berkeley. This enables Corbin to learn more about himself and others, as he cobbles together an eclectic belief system based on mysticism, faith and science, and then attempts to develop an art style capable of expressing his new sense of self. Corbin’s long journey is sometimes hilarious and grueling. He searches inside and out and in every direction for the lost answers but ultimately finds the resolution in plain sight.

The book is wonderful.
I think of Dan Corbin as the kind of artist who fires-up a cutting torch in a damp, dilapidated cinder block hovel-- and starts making things. I think of him that way because that's what he was doing when I first met him. He struck me as an old-school farmer who knew how to fix the axle on a John Deere 620. It was in his presence.
I met Dan in the gutted boiler room of an abandoned laundry. That's where he set-up shop in downtown Chico, in the late 1980s. During that first encounter, Dan told the early life story of establishing a peach orchard with his father. Working season after season and year after year. And how, just when all the labor was about to payoff, everything went to hell. Whether it was flood, frost, fire or an asteroid didn't matter much. Dan lost his taste for farming, then and there.
The next thing I remember was Dan's story of moving a load of ceramic art to market in an old bread truck. As I recall it was a ton of work, representing a large chunk of yearly output. Dan was on his way to a show in San Francisco-- or maybe Berkeley. After some kind of accident, the load was reduced to rubble. This led to a discussion of media. Dan made a case for working with less fragile things. Things that could stand-up to a hammer or a bit of bouncing around in the back of a truck.
So, it was natural that Dan would find his way to the kind of art he does so well. It's the art of broken things, put back together. And, if they can't be broken in the first place, why mess with them? It's in the breaking that lessons are learned. Standing in the wrecked peach orchard, asking, “Where do I go from here? How do I take this and beat it into a new thing--maybe something beautiful. Or something that speaks a language all its own.
I think Corbin's power is in conjuring life from broken things. That pocket full of experiences and discards that lesser spirits cast aside. It's a kind of scrappy heroism, with a long American tradition--Huck Finn comes to mind.
I hope there are more Dan Corbin’s being made, somewhere in America. My fear is that they are not. So, if you should happen to encounter a young man collecting rusty nails, old perfume bottles, and chunks of broken glass, please salute him. He's the next Dan Corbin.

Patrick Newman: Writer, social advocate.

Kiss of the Art Gods is a memoir by the sculptor / author Dan Corbin. The memoir journals a twenty-year struggle to find his way as a figurative sculptor. Michele French reviewed the rich memoir stating "it is a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit". The review is posted on the author's website kissoftheartgods.net. The book is scheduled to be launched early 2017, more details regarding the launch will be posted on the author's website. kissoftheartgods.com

KISS OF THE ART GODS
A Memoir by Dan Corbin
Book Review by Caroline Grayson, November 2016

Background
A life-changing flood. A failing farm. A controversial war. A struggle for identity. Kiss of the Art Gods is a memoir authored by successful figurative sculptor Dan Corbin. His story is set against the backdrop of the industrial 50’s, followed by the turbulent 60’s and 70’s. Corbin’s book explores his journey from the experiences of childhood up through his success as an artist.

Critique
Corbin’s writing reflects his journey. His boyhood was filled with tactile exploration. In his idyllic young days growing up on a farm with two brothers, he had ample opportunity experience with abandon everything from mud pits to peach orchards; and from mechanics to an early fascination with fire. As he grows up and the harsh realities of life invade, his story periodically follows rabbit trails; seemingly unrelated paths and bursts of memory, which later in his story make sense.

Corbin’s youthful stint as a wino was an exercise that served him well later as he learned to contemplate those around him and adjust his behaviors according to what he saw. At times this came across as detachment. Was he an observer of living history or an active participant? This quiet conflict played out when, after serving in the military, he later became a passive participant in war demonstrations.

As he discovered and developed his artistic talents, the circuitous nature of his experiences comes together. The intense observation and tactile exploration of his life became the key to his success.
Before I read Kiss of the Art Gods, I was a fan of this artist. Afterward, I realized I had fallen in love with Danny, the boy. It is clear he is still inside the man.

Conclusion
This book was an interesting read and an inadvertent commentary on a conflicted time in American’s history. Our lives are shaped by our families, our experiences, and the choices we make along the way. Corbin’s story is much like his art. Experiential, meandering, at times esoteric and ultimately, simply beautiful.

Review: Kiss Of The Art Gods by Dan Corbin

The Kiss Of The Art Gods is an expansive and honest account of Dan Corbin’s life as a figurative sculptor. The story is largely set in the author’s native California and goes back two generations, Corbin claiming that his bootlegger and blacksmith genes were an essential element in his hard won success as a sculptor.

Corbin’s childhood, as the youngest of three boys, was full of freedom and adventure. It was helping out in his parents’ shop, working with fire and metal, that sewed the creative seeds which would later flourish into a thirty year career.

His recollections of the 1955 flood – a year when California recorded one of its highest ever rainfalls – are laced with dramatic detail and personal insights. The devastation of the flood kept Corbin and his family from their ruined home for many months and when they returned, he felt his childhood was over, despite being only ten years old.

My emotional well-being began to resemble the landscape of the post-flood years: barren, disharmonious, isolated, and uprooted.

Turbulent years followed, the Corbin family having fallen into poverty, but it was during this time that Dan Corbin created his first sculpture as a school art assignment. His innate talent was obvious to everyone and as he charmingly puts it, the Art Gods…..gave me the thumbs up. According to Corbin, the Art Gods are the guardians of humanity, their job being to use art as superglue, bonding together culture and civilization.

They embrace art and artists as enablers and agents of peaceful transformation.

This is an important and prescient insight, particularly in our troubled world. Corbin expounds at length about the nature and role of the Art Gods, drawing on philosophy, mysticism, religion, science and evolution.

His relationship with his mother is a recurring theme in Corbin’s memoir. A loving but demanding woman, she didn’t spare the rod when it came to disciplining her three sons. Nevertheless, Corbin credits her with instilling the qualities that allowed him to succeed as an artist. Not least of these were critical observational skills based on objectivity, knowledge and instinct. Indeed, although he didn’t know it at the time, the hardships and tedium of his chore-filled childhood were preparation for the many struggles that lay ahead.

Corbin was drafted into the US army in 1966 but declined an opportunity to train as an officer. He didn’t want to give orders, preferring to do his own thing and allow others to do theirs. Instead of being sent to Vietnam – a prospect he dreaded – Corbin was sent to Germany. Among many other things, it instilled a curiosity about Europe and once discharged, he travelled through many European countries on a motorcycle, soaking up the food, the culture, the joy of being young and alive.

Once back in the US, Corbin went to college and fell in love for the first time. It was a transformative experience the helped him grow as a man and as a creative soul. When the relationship ended he moved away, discerning a recurring pattern in his life:

I would move to a new place, work my tail off getting settled in, learn the ropes, and have a brief moment at the top before giving it all up, moving someplace new, and starting all over again.

The new place on this occasion was Santa Barbara, where Corbin enrolled in another college and took his art classes more seriously, especially drawing. He came to understand how important it was for artists to become proficient at drawing, a skill that took him around eight years to fully master. According to Corbin, drawing is an applied science with artistic intent, a fundamental prerequisite to art. But it was during one of his early classes that Corbin had an epiphany:

Even though I couldn’t draw well, on that day I discovered my life’s passion, the study of the human figure.

His dream was to attend UCSB – a dream he realized in 1970. It was a good fit. When he wasn’t in class, Corbin spent much of his time exploring and communing with the physical beauty of the area, claiming that it was pivotal to his cultural, artistic, and personal growth. On graduating he travelled to Spain where he painted happily, feeling he had earned this time and deserved to enjoy it.

I had fulfilled my obligations to my family by helping on the ranch. I had served my country, worked my way through college, and now had the time, resources, and finally the studio necessary to become an artist.

Corbin’s dream was cut short when he contracted typhoid and spent months in hospital, gravely ill. He had to learn to walk again and faced a long hard road to recovery – physically and psychologically. The experience altered his outlook on life. He took nothing for granted but once again, his struggles hardened his resolve to succeed. It would take time though. When he returned to Santa Barbara a broken heart compounded his troubles and it was a while before the Art Gods spoke to him again.

It was a planned trip to Australia that stirred them – a trip Corbin never made. His flight stopped in Hawaii, a place that transfixed and inspired him so much, it became his home for the next four years.

Colors in Hawaii seem to vibrate. The flora and fauna try to outdo each other. The insects are colorful, the wild parrots are vibrant, and the flowers are pulsating.

He moved from island to island, discovering that each had its own character and unique way of stimulating his inner artist. Corbin continued to study – closing gaps in his artistic knowledge and skills – and worked hard to become more proficient in painting and sculpture. He also meditated and did yoga, which he believes helped him fully recover from typhoid. When the time was right he relocated back to his native California, sensing that it would be the place where his career could finally flourish. And he was right. Corbin sold his first sculpture through commercial means (via a San Francisco art gallery) and over the next thirty years, would sell over 350 sculptures.

This wasn’t a linear trajectory, however, and it took many more years for his signature figurative style to develop and mature. In the meantime he flirted with a more conventional lifestyle but found it antithetical to his creative calling so headed south to Santa Barbara again, where he spent two years living in his VW van. He describes this in terms of a mid-life crisis and while giving up everything in pursuit of artistic greatness is a romantic notion in the young, in the not-so-young it is less appealing. Corbin tired of the strain that being homeless imposed, and eventually gave up and went north again to work the fruit harvest.

It was a time of reflection and harsh reality; a time when he felt the Art Gods had abandoned him. He describes going to a smart San Francisco gallery to collect his sculpture or the money the dealer would have been paid if he sold it. The two men came to blows and a vicious fist fight ensued, after which Corbin had to lie low in order to avoid being arrested. It is at this point he describes the uneasy relationship between dealers and artists, and the unscrupulous ways the former sometimes employ to exploit the latter. I think it’s fair to say that Corbin has little respect for some of the art dealers he has come across in his career.

Back in Chico, Corbin once again found himself without the kiss of the Art Gods and was beset by the conviction that he was running out of time. He decided to quit once and for all. The plan was to take more classes, earn a Master of Art degree and teach. But like so many of Corbin’s plans, it sounded simpler than it was. The problem resided in the low esteem in which Corbin held many of the tenured professors. After all, Corbin had paid his artistic dues – been homeless and penniless, made sacrifices, given up everything in the pursuit of art – in a way the academics simply hadn’t. For the most part Corbin found them talentless and anachronistic, with the notable exception of sculptor, David Best. When Best suggested that Corbin work with materials more durable than clay, it was advice that would change his life. Corbin isn’t too proud to admit this wasn’t the first time a professor had given him this advice, but this time he swallowed his pride and acted upon it.

He began working with bauxite – refined aluminum ore. It was a versatile, durable and malleable material that allowed Corbin to create his first freestanding life size sculpture, and many more followed. At last, Corbin had felt the kiss of the Art Gods:

The new sculptures revealed an intriguing industrial look, alluding to the process of how they were constructed and leaving an imprint of the materials. The sculptures also conveyed life-like anatomical details, expressing a titillating feeling of sensuality. I embedded areas of color next to sheets of lead, creating a curious juxtaposition. The art world was currently obsessed with sculptures made from non-traditional art materials, and during that moment I was in sync and standing high on the cutting edge of innovation.

So, after a lifetime of trying to make a living as an artist, Dan Corbin realized his dream. He also fell in love with a woman with whom he has three children. Life was sweet, until a routine medical in 2012 showed a serious and very possibly life threatening condition. The postscript alludes to a long fight to regain his health, the details of which will be revealed in his next book.

In the spirit of full disclosure I should point out that I am the proud owner of two of Dan Corbin’s bauxite figurative sculptures. They are extraordinary and fascinating, rather like the man himself.

Colette Dartford 2016

I have good news concerning the California resales royalties act regarding intellectual property. I've been in the art industry for 35 years and have always had a hard time getting contact information of people who purchased my sculptures.But more aggravating, my early work is now being resold and Im not receiving royalties, not 5 % nothing.Having a hard time getting a royalties check and contact information from a corporate type gallery I hired a intellectual property lawyer this time. My lawyer informed the gallery: that the calif resales royalties act, Calif civil code 986a was affirmed by the ninth circuit court upholding the law in California. The gallery quickly payed me and gave me all contact info.on previous sales in accordance with Cal Civ. Code 986a [3].Ask for what your due, then get a lawyer. Dan Corbin

New stainless steel, outdoor worthy, figurative sculpture by Dan Corbin is now available at the Imago Gallery in Palm Desert.

The summer of 2015. Dan Corbin is finishing life size steel and aluminum castings and concentrating on unique patinas.

The latest painting from Dan Corbin's studio titled Budapest Wedding Dress, height. 53in. x width 41in., mixed media, is being shown during the month of April 2015, at the Northern California Painting Show hosted at the John Natsoulas Gallery.

I'm pleased to announce the incredible Imago Gallery in Palm Desert, California is now showing three of my figurative sculptures. The gallery is located in a unique desert setting and has national and international implications for the arts. I'm happy to be part of the action. See Publications for a photo.

600 people attended the Fresno Art Museum's summer opening. Dan Corbin has four figurative sculptures displayed in a large dramatically lit exhibition space. The show ends September 1st 2013. Please see the publication section of the website to see the Fresno Museum Installation shot of Dan Corbin's sculptures.

Dan Corbin will be exhibiting a figurative sculpture titled Rivers' Edge at the international San Francisco artMAKT May 16-19. The Natsoulas Gallery of Davis, CA will represent Corbin's work at this prestigious Art Exhibition. The sculpture exhibited by Dan Corbin is a female figure with a highly textural surface quality. Within the surface there is a juxtaposition of selected wood fragments and a white bauxite sculpted surface.

Dan Corbin is showing 4 sculptures at the Fresno Art Museum, May 17th to August 1st 2013. Classical Impulse is the name of the show. Corbin's sculptures are a convergence of conceptualism and classical figurative concerns. The show includes male and female sculptures. The materials used to construct the sculptures range from cast carbon steel to bauxite and oxide mixed media formed sculptures. Corbin's style accentuates surface qualities. Various materials and colors embedded in the surfaces add multiple interpretations to the narrative. These works have been selected by the artist giving a broad view of his production.

June 2012 An Encaustic and oil, mixed media painting by Dan Corbin titled "Art Angles" was recently place in a prominent Southern California art collection slated to be donated to the Laguna Beach Art Museum. See image in sold work folder. John Natsoulas the dynamic and prestigious art dealer of Sacramento negotiated the deal.

An aluminum sculpture by Dan Corbin titled "Parallel Thoughts", ht. 53 in, recently placed in a Florida private collection was one of Corbin's favorite metal castings. Corbin research into the plausibility of aluminum as a material capable of expressing the artists desire for an energized surface on figurative sculpture has been a 20 year research project. Corbin says " You have to love Aluminum, easy to cast, light, a pleasure to work with and very sexy".

Two Sculptures by Dan Corbin titled "Armadillo Ansamble" and "California Sandstone" are slated to be donated to the new Museum of Northern California Art. These two excellent sculptures are from the Reed Applegate collection purchased in 1993 and 1995. The free market value of Dan Corbin's sculpture can be ascertained by contacting the Imago Gallery, Palm Desert, California.

Dan Corbin is exhibiting a sculpture titled "Tropical Therapy" at the Chicago SOFA show Nov. 5-7. The sculpture is 57 inches in height, and made from bauxite, oxides, and sheet metals. John Natsoulas Gallery of Davis, California, is exclusively representing Corbin's work at the SOFA show. Its been 13 years since Ive shown at SOFA . Its a good venue to show sculpture. John always has a interesting group of artists I 'm happy to have this opportunity to show my work again to the many Chicago collectors who own my sculptures.

Its been a long hot productive summer for Dan Corbin. Many good things have happened. A first for me is the placement of one of my quintessential California sculptures "Portland Ravine" in a Hong Kong collection. Its hard for me to understand how a piece with all things Californian, sensuality, texture, energized surface, a touch of conceptual, ends up going half way around the world to a non western culture to find a home.

ON BEING A KITSCH SCULPTOR by Dan Corbin
The suspended animation of figurative sculpture began with one small statement by Clement Greenberg in 1939. Don't touch the figurative image or you ll land yourself in Kitsch". Every serious artists unspoken fear is being associated with Elvis paintings, sentimental landscapes, cubist knock offs, trite and crass items sold in touristy Carmel Galleries. Greenberg's desire was to give breathing space for the budding abstract expressionist. Inadvertently he helped create the dysfunctional totalitarian art train we have today. Academic tradition and the avant-Guard have formed and intellectual conglomerate, supported and perpetuated by the state and sold to the public by curatorial art brokers. The elitist art train left the station sixty years ago devoid of form, nature and emotion, rumbling along its linear progression faster than the red train in Dr. Zhivago, eliminating opposition and crushing dissent, piloted by self-serving culture hunters.
This is a great system except for one uncontrollable factor, the collector. Remember the relationship between Picasso and the Steins. Art collectors have passion in common and that is kitsch"s mothers milk. Placing art in collectors homes has been a pillar in the evolution of Kitsch. It began in the late 19th century in Europe as a way of placing culture in peoples homes on the cheap. The lowly art that delt with emotion, technique, aesthetics, history, plastic arts, a place for disenfranchised artists, has now become the high art celebrating its own language of expression.Conditions have reversed. Kitsch is now the system producing high art wheres as the former academic avant-garde conglomerate has become irrelevant, victim of its own intellectual inbreeding. Pursuing experimentation for the sake of experimentation, over indulging in concocted high-sounding esoteric ideas.
Artists, ask yourselves. Have you developed a competent technique based on skill, feelings and emotion? Are hard work, education, study, and a command of materials new and old central to your art? Have you conducted independent research drawn from history and barrowed from fellow artists? Have you been beaten up by university professors who practice thought control? Do you make artwork to please phantom art critics or do you create to satisfy inner desires. Do you have an audience that loves your work? Are galleries, those impure vehicles of capitalism, a large part of you existence? Do you like to sell your work? If you have these passions, you are probably kitsch. It.s OK, Picasso was the ultimate Kitsch man. Why are representational artists referring to themselves as kitsch rather than post modernist. In part it's the insurgency factor. Talented artist feel it's my house and my rules. They are tired of being dictated to by the latest fashion and art ideology emulating from New York. No ideology or label would be best. If it is necessary to have one I choose Kitsch. It allows me to be intelligent and home grown. It gives freedom to make a contemporary figurative sculpture without playing the self-indulgent art establishment game.

The summer of 2011 is a production time for the Dan Corbin studio. Sculpture makes them selfs in the Sacramento heat valley. I'm working on a couple commissions, and hope to get to a mold making project in the fall. For fun, my son is helping this summer and we are making a couple videos for UTube consumption.

Dan Corblin is showing a piece titled "Her Excursion " at the San Francisco artmrkt. John Natsoulas Gallery of Davis California is representing Corbin's work at this international art event.

This months copy of Home Beautiful, April has a photo of a Dan Corbin sculpture in a Calif. Contemporary home. This kind of exposure does more for the artist and the art industry than critical art review. Here's why. Art Collectors make the art industry go round. We need to glorify the art collector. In this case the collector owns the art work and had a house designed around their collection. How cool is that? The article resulted in the sale of another sculpture " A day in Pompeii" recently sold to yet another collector who saw article looked name up on web found my dealer Chris Winfield. And another small victory for the art industry.

"Her Way" a sculpture from one of my favorite series sold to a Vancover collector. Dan Corbin loves this placement, its a great example of contemporary figurative art, vibrate colors, interesting textures, and the end result of a relationship between the Chris Windfield Gallery, and Dan Corbin.

I've reunited with the John Natsulas Gallery of Sacramento. John could have the best eye in the Gallery business. John is including me in his upcoming Northern Calif. painting show beginning Feb 27th at his Davis galllery. Also John is planning on exhibiting one of my large pieces at the S.F. Art Expo. May25th. 2011. Im looking forward to once again showing at the S.F. Expo. All of us Northern Calif. artists hope S.F. can get it together and reach its potential as a viable market for contemporary art. When is the S.F. art industry going to catapult a few of us artist onto the international stage?

The newest addition to my sold work category, is a sculpture titled "Hidden Key". The Elaine Baker Galley of Boca Raton Florida sold the piece to an Ohio Collector.