Sistine Touch by Bob Emser

Bob Emser was born in 1954 in Illinois, during the height of the housing boom in the United States. Influenced by the constant house construction of the era and his father, a mechanical engineer, he spent most of his early years building and playing with machines. Emser had a particular fascination with aviation, and building model planes with his father. Emser’s interest in structure led him to begin his formal education in the study of architecture. Feeling the constraints of architecture and the excitement of his first art course, sculpture, he shifted his focus.

From the beginning, Emser’s work has dealt with the internal structure and how that structure supported or became visible on the exterior. Emser’s body of work is derived from and is a reference to the pioneering spirit of aviation and nautical history. The titles of his works give us a handle on the references, which only stand as a metaphor for his life experiences. Emser continues to make work today and was the founder of the Contemporary Art Center, a non for profit gallery, built on Peoria, Illinois’ revitalized Riverfront Walkway on the Illinois River.