From a very young age Richard Arbarno has been working with his hands—drawing, making Christmas ornaments, toy cars, toy guns, painting my bike—things of that nature. After high school he worked in his father’s toy store, then trained and worked as a draftsman. After being drafted and honorably discharged from the Army, he pursued his interest in art, graduating from Parsons School of Design and worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the designing department. Between his graphic design and my freelance work he then I turned to photography, working in advertising and corporate photography. This portion of his careet allowed him to travel quite a bit, photographing everything from bank presidents and annual reports to factories and companies across America.

       “As I taught myself how to create my pieces and perfect my unique style, I found myself inspired by other artists—Elie Nadelman, Niki de Saint Phalle, Henri Rousseau, and even artists without formal art training who just create. They are called “outside artists.” Thorton Dial, a recognized outside artist, once said, Art ain’t about paint. It ain’t about canvas. It’s about ideas.”

       In fact I’m not sure where the ideas come from but I do have asketch book of pending ideas which keeps getting larger. I have created over one hundred thirty sculptures and plan to keep on constructing them until I no longer can. My hope is that they will bring others some joy and stretch one’s imagination.