Biography & Recognitions

Robert Allen Rikoon

Rob is a classically trained visual artist whose work bridges traditional technique and contemporary vision. With a career spanning over four decades, his paintings, drawings, and installations have been exhibited internationally and collected both publicly and privately. From the halls of Harvard to the Uffizi Palace, Rikoon's work reflects a commitment to craftsmanship, observation, and the universality of human experience.

Education

Rikoon's academic journey began at Harvard College, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Environmental Studies in 1977. He went on to refine his skills in Florence, Italy, earning his Master of Arts in Painting from Villa Schifanoia, Rosary College in 1978.

His artistic formation includes studies at the Norfolk Summer School for Painting, Drawing, Graphics and Photography at Yale University (1976), coursework in Anatomy at Boston University School of Fine Arts, and training in Materials and Techniques at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1974, 1977). In more recent years, he expanded his skill set through various trade courses at Santa Fe Community College (2018–2020).

Exhibitions

  • Cabinet des Dessins, Louvre Museum, Paris, France

  • Galleries de Designi, Uffizi Palace, Florence, Italy

  • Boise Art Museum – Spirit of the West, Idaho Centennial Biannual, Boise, ID

  • Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University-Cambridge, MA

  • Stoekel Gallery, Yale University- Norfolk, CT

  • Ochi Gallery, Art Attack Gallery, Boise, ID

  • New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Soccoro, NM

  • Creative Connections, Sussman Gallery, Aldridge Fine Arts, Albuquerque, NM

  • El Taller, Taos, NM

  • Tarbox Gallery, San Diego, CA

  • La Palomas Gallery, Denver, CO

  • Munson Gallery, Janus Gallery, Fontennetta Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

  • Horizon Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

  • Numerous private exhibitions in New York, Florida and California

Installations

Rikoon’s large-scale commissions and public artworks are located:

  • “We Trust in the Loyalty of Old Friends” – A six-panel mural (24’ x 6’) on loan to the New Mexico Capitol Art Foundation, on permanent display on the second floor of the rotunda of the New Mexico State Capital Building, (also known as the Roundhouse), Santa Fe, NM, (formerly located at the Albuquerque International Airport).

  • “Liminal State” Chapel – A contemplative installation of 63 component panels at the Social Hall of the Haywood Street Congregation Methodist Church, Asheville, NC.

  • “Crucifixion” – A freestanding sculptural work located at the intersection of I-26 and I-240, behind the Haywood Street Congregation building, Asheville, NC.

  • Oshara Sculpture Park North - Santa Fe, New Mexico – An outdoor public square (southeast quadrant) featuring four (4) sculptures of religious figures, offering a place for reflection and spiritual inquiry.

  • Oshara Sculpture Park South - Santa Fe, New Mexico – The Ox Herding Series is a meditative 1 acre semi landscaped park designed by Rikoon and showcasing his large steel sculptures inspired by the traditional Zen parable of ten ox herding images.

Current Studio

Robert Allen Rikoon lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he continues to explore new mediums and expand his studio practice. His work remains grounded in a deep reverence for tradition and a curiosity about the liminal spaces between memory, spirit, and form. He also maintains a shop and studio presence in the Asheville, North Carolina area, where select works can be seen. This includes a coming soon installation of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, with their respective companion animals, which will be available to the public at the corner of Cauble and Broadway Streets in Asheville, NC.

Awards & Recognitions

  • "Artists of the Century," Chicago, Illinois

  • Villa Schifanoia, Florence, Italy

  • Yale University, Connecticut