About the Artist

Robert Phaneuf “Life’s Fast. Love art.”

Robert Phaneuf’s art is rooted in a lifetime of working with precision, craftsmanship, restoration, and found objects. Born in Coventry, Rhode Island, in 1946, Robert grew up around the meticulous world of horology, learning from his father, a watchmaker and jeweler. Before he started painting, he was developing the patience, dexterity, and mechanical understanding that would eventually become central to his artistic practice.

A Foundation in Precision

Robert’s introduction to fine mechanical work began at his father’s watchmaker’s bench. During one season, while his father was unwell at his jewelry store in St. Petersburg, Florida, he asked Robert to sit at the bench and make adjustments to watches while guiding him through the process. It quickly became apparent that Robert possessed an inherent ability for fine-motor mechanics and an unusual aptitude for the precision required to work with delicate timepieces. As a teenager, Robert began performing much of his father’s watch-repair work as a source of side income while attending school. His work provided valuable assistance to his father while giving Robert an early education in craftsmanship, patience, precision, and the inner workings of mechanical objects.

Watchmaking to Restoration

As a young man, Robert also developed an interest in restoring antique firearms. What began as a hobby became another avenue for his natural mechanical abilities. He bought, sold, and collected firearms, particularly pieces requiring repair or restoration. Their mechanical construction and intricate components seemed intuitive to him, perhaps because of the foundation he had developed through his early watchmaking experiences. Over the course of his life, Robert expanded his restoration work beyond watches and firearms.

One restoration project became especially significant: An antique European painting depicting a tower contained a pocket-watch mechanism installed in the back of the canvas. Robert restored the watch movement so that it could function as an integral part of the tower clock represented on the front of the painting. He went on to restoring the painting to its original condition. The project brought together several of the disciplines that had shaped Robert throughout his life. Robert involved himself by attending painting classes and studio studies to study techniques that he incorporated into his love of painting.

Love of Art

Robert love of art is influenced by artists, including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Paul Gauguin. Robert developed a distinctive interest in geometry, structure, repetition, and the relationship between mechanical components and visual form. His work brings together elements that might traditionally belong to separate worlds: fine art and mechanical engineering, restoration and contemporary expression, historical objects and modern composition.

Firearms and edged weapons became a theme for Robert because they had already been part of his life through collecting, repairing, restoring, and studying the history of how weapons have changed the world. Beauty, age, and history have been the foundation of the philosophy of Robert’s paintings.

Original Mixed Media

Robert’s paintings are characterized by unconventional combinations which have included the use of .925 sterling silver, mixed media paints, as well as mechanical components. Many of Robert’s paintings have included fragmented parts from firearms, swords and edged weapons unabashed to the art world.