Lion Head II

Robert Hooke is an internationally exhibited sculptor whose work distills animal form and human emotion into simplified, highly readable shapes. He studied sculpture with Herbert Kallem at the School of Visual Arts in New York during the 1970s, then moved to London in 1976, where he worked for decades before returning to Sag Harbor. He was originally trained to carve marble, and he later translated that same sensibility to bronze by carving hard plaster blocks, preserving broad surfaces and clean, flowing lines, then finishing the bronze with patinas that echo the depth and richness of stone.

Hooke’s career includes one-man exhibitions and international showings across Europe, Australia, and South Africa, along with a steady record of commissions and collection placement. In his own approach to recognizable subjects, Hooke emphasizes editing over description, often citing Miles Davis’s idea that creativity lives in what you leave out. That philosophy shows in his work: posture, tilt, and line do the communicating, giving viewers room to bring their own read to the piece.