Robert Lee Morris
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Robert Lee Morris is a jewelry designer and sculptor who attributes much of his inspiration to forms he admires in nature. His designs have been made in gold, silver and bronze. He is an acknowledged leader of the art jewelry movement. He has collaborated or designed collections for fashion designers Kansai Yamamoto, Calvin Klein, Anne Klein and Donna Karan.
He was born in Nuremberg, Germany where his parents were stationed after the end of World War II. His father was in the US Air Force. They were also stationed in Japan when he was nine for 4 years and later in Brazil. He graduated from Beloit College with honors in 1969.
Morris was discovered in 1971 by New York gallery owner Joan Sonnebend and first exhibited at her art jewelry outpost in the Plaza Hotel called Sculpture to Wear. Shortly after Sculpture to Wear's closing in 1977, he opened the first edition of Artwear Gallery at 28 East 74th St. on the Upper East Side, near the couture district on Madison Avenue. Artwear relocated to 409 West Broadway SoHo in August 1978 and later opened an additional larger space across the street at 456 West Broadway. Artwear Gallery quickly became known for its melding of fashion and art. Many of the jewelry artists promoted by Morris, such as Ted Muehling have gone on to open their own boutiques and to show their work internationally. Morris closed Artwear in 1995 and the RLM Robert Lee Morris Gallery opened in Sept. 1995 at 400 West Broadway focusing exclusively on Morris' own work.
His career initially took off after being shown on the cover of Vogue in 1976. Vogue featured his work for 7 years in 49 consecutive issues.
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