Steve Tobin
Steve Tobin is a sculptor whose work typically consists of very large scale pieces. He works in several media including metal, glass, wood, and clay. His most well-known clay pieces are from ...
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Typical Marks
About
- Biography
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Steve Tobin is a sculptor whose work typically consists of very large scale pieces. He works in several media including metal, glass, wood, and clay. His most well-known clay pieces are from series he called Exploded Earth and Bangpots. Initially these pieces began with a handful of clay formed into a square or rectangular shape. While still wet an explosive was pushed into the center of the solid clay and exploded. The explosion blows the form open creating a small sculpture. In the kiln pools of color are created by the chemical reaction of the explosive powders and the clay during the firing. As he became more confident with this work Tobin began to create pieces 4? to 6? in diameter and weighing from 1,000 to 4,000 pounds.
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- Apprenticeships & Residencies
- Primary Work Experience
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Other
- Public Collections
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American Center, Helsinki, Finland
American Glass Museum, Millville, New Jersey
American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), Pomona, California
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Gratz College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinis College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
Retretti Museum, Punkaharju, Finland
State Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
White House Collection of American Crafts, Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, Arkansas
Bibliography
Grande, John K. Steve Tobin: Exploded Earth. Pomona, CA: American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2006.
Warmus, William. “The Event Itself is the Only Truth.” Sculpture Magazine 20, no.2 (March 2001).
- CV or Resume
- Website(s)
Citation: Steve Tobin, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/steve-tobin
