{"id":4473,"date":"2014-12-14T09:01:59","date_gmt":"2014-12-14T14:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=4473"},"modified":"2014-12-15T11:05:11","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T16:05:11","slug":"robert-koepnick-sculptor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/12\/robert-koepnick-sculptor\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Koepnick, sculptor"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was in high school, my regular habit was to take the bus downtown from my suburban home outside Dayton, Ohio. After rambling about, I always went to the library to read and study. Haunting libraries was a habit I developed from my earliest days<\/a>. Anyway, above the entrance to Dayton Metro Library was (and still is, I think) this massive sculpture by Robert Koepnick<\/a>.  Without fail I’d stop and study this highly stylized piece depicting fellow travelers–book lovers like myself.<\/p>\n

\"Koepnick<\/a>
Koepnick piece ‘Untitled’ at the Dayton Metro Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During those years, I took classes at the Dayton Art Institute<\/a> in the summer. With its Renaissance-style architecture, the Art Institute was a magic place. Perched on a hill overlooking the Great Miami River, the Art Institute seemed to exist in its own timeless space. The Institute grounds, with its majestic view of the Dayton skyline, is filled with sculpture, like this one (although I think this piece is now inside the museum). (Sadly the Art Institute’s web<\/a> site remains disappointingly unprofessional; simple searches fail to return items in their collection, such as this one.)<\/p>\n

\"'Huck<\/a>
‘Huck Finn’ by Koepnick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations<\/span><\/a><\/div>

The Art Institute was a great place for a teenager to explore!  The lower levels consist of a labyrinth of tunnels and nooks and crannies. There was a print shop with massive intaglio presses, and a sculpture foundry (I hope it’s still there). I liked it down there, fascinated by the goings on.<\/p>\n

Always stubborn, I had a jaundiced view of my painting instructors with their airy pronouncements, and gravitated to the print shop and foundry instead. To my teenage mind, print makers and sculptors knew real<\/em> things, while my painting instructors seemed mere theorists. I was struck then (as now) at how bombastic and political painters seem compared to print makers and sculptors.The process of print making and sculpting keeps the practitioners grounded. The things you have to know–those real<\/em> things– not only prevent pieces from spoiling, they prevent you from getting injured–or worse. The danger makes it all the more fascinating.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

It was in the Institute’s foundry where I met Bob Koepnick. Koepnick was well known around Dayton–his sculpture still dots the city–and was a long-time teacher at the Institute. The other students talked about him in hushed, reverent tones. His students adored him. An elderly man then (he was born in 1907 and died in 1995), he was energetic and dynamic. Although a serious man, he was easy to approach and talk to, and immediately put me at ease in spite of my nervousness at meeting a great artist..<\/p>\n

I don’t remember much about that meeting, but he encouraged me and urged to take up sculpting. Although I later studied printmaking, I never did take up sculpting. He generously let me hang around the foundry and even let me help pour a student’s small bronze. I still remember putting on the leather apron and gloves and pulling the clumsy safety mask over my head.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Stephen Pentak at Bonfoey<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Here is one more of Bob’s pieces in Dayton:<\/p>\n

\"Our<\/a>
Our Lady of Victory at the Bergamo Center for Lifelong Learning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even in these three pieces you get a sense of Bob’s range. Although the styles vary, they all look like ‘Kopenicks.’<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Exhibition<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Koepnick had a very successful public career, and the students tried to model themselves on him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was in high school, my regular habit was to take the bus downtown from my suburban home outside Dayton, Ohio. After rambling about, I always went to the library to read and study. Haunting libraries was a habit I developed from my earliest days. Anyway, above the entrance to Dayton Metro Library was (and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":4479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,5,139,1],"tags":[67,221,156],"class_list":["post-4473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-museum","category-artists","category-bio","category-uncategorized","tag-dayton-art-institute","tag-dayton-artists","tag-ohio-artists"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Kop-DAI.jpg?fit=427%2C479&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":320,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/dayton-art-institute-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":4473,"position":0},"title":"Dayton Art Institute\u2014Fail","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dayton Art Institute is handsomely situated on a hill above the Great Miami River.\u00a0 The museum\u2019s beautiful Italianate main wing provides a remarkable view of the Dayton skyline.\u00a0 Travelers along I-75 passing beneath the museum\u2019s imposing\u00a0facade can't help but be intrigued by the marvelous piece of architecture. The museum\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":307,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/robert-smith\/","url_meta":{"origin":4473,"position":1},"title":"Robert Smith","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert Smith was an American artist who died in 1985.\u00a0 When I knew him, he already was an elderly man.\u00a0 He lived with his teenage son in Kettering, Ohio in a French chateau-type building that seemed the height of romance to a high school kid, which was what I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"robert_smith","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/robert_smith.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14044,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2025\/11\/the-good-and-bad-my-experience-at-the-dayton-art-institute\/","url_meta":{"origin":4473,"position":2},"title":"The Good and Bad: My Experience at the Dayton Art Institute","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The last time I visited the Dayton Art Institute was an unpleasant experience. I grew up in Dayton and was intimate with its collection. I was disappointed upon discovering that the collection had been rearranged to reflect woke bromides. At bottom, woke means aligning with NGO-supported and government-mandated policies. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/L3.2017.1.jpeg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":832,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/carl-gaertner\/","url_meta":{"origin":4473,"position":3},"title":"Carl Gaertner","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was a lucky day--I discovered an artist new to me: Carl Gaertner\u00a0(1898-1952). \u00a0Gaertner's reputation is almost entirely local \u00a0to Cleveland, as \u00a0Robert Smith's is confined to\u00a0Dayton. Gaertner was born in Cleveland and lived in and around there until his death. \u00a0He taught for many years at the Cleveland Institute\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gaertner: oil","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gaertner-winter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gaertner-winter.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gaertner-winter.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":536,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/12\/mother-nursing-infant\/","url_meta":{"origin":4473,"position":4},"title":"Painting: Mother Nursing Infant","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"December 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This is an older painting from the gallery. Working on a painting, I get it to a certain point then put it aside.\u00a0 I rarely finish a painting, even a small one, in a single sitting.\u00a0 The task is to remain objective without becoming over critical of oneself, which can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bio"","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1052,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/gaertner-at-the-cleveland-museum-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":4473,"position":5},"title":"Gaertner at the Cleveland Museum of Art","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm an idiot, but you already knew that. After writing about discovering Frederick Gaertner in this post, I belatedly realized I had seen--on numerous\u00a0occasions, no less--one of his paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art. \u00a0For some reason, I never connected that Gaertner with my Gaertner discovered at the Bonfoey\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Furnace by Gaertner ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/gaertner-cai.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/gaertner-cai.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/gaertner-cai.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-1a9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}