Rob Duarte is an artist and educator, whose practice draws attention to the politics embedded in all technology. Through sculptures and installations, Rob focuses on how technology often creates more problems than it solves, reinforces existing social hierarchies, and disguises its political ideology through slick interfaces. His work evolves from topical research and has included themes related to technology & culture, technology as a mediator, and the relationship between capitalism and waste.
Rob earned an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of California San Diego, a BFA in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and BS in Business Information Systems with a minor in Computer & Information Science from the University of Massachusetts. At UCSD, Rob was an Ujima Scholar and a San Diego Fellow. Rob currently works as an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at Florida State University, where he teaches sculpture, digital fabrication, physical computing, creative coding, and mechatronic art. He also serves as the director of the department’s graduate program.
Rob has exhibited his work in venues as diverse as the Venice Biennale of Architecture, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the New Children’s Museum, and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. He has also participated in exhibitions for the Florida Art Prize in Contemporary Art, the San Diego Art Prize, and the southXeast Triennial.