Exiles
Robb Putnam — Exiles
Robb Putnam's recent body of work, Exiles, marks a departure from his previous work featuring animal characters and signals his new foray into abstraction. Although formally distinct, these works continue his longstanding engagement with fiber and textiles as his primary materials. What remains constant is Putnam’s exploration of psychological themes — in particular, the tension between vulnerability and protection, and the shifting boundaries of intimacy.
The title Exiles draws on a psychological concept that posits the human mind is composed of multiple parts, or subpersonalities, each with its own emotions, motivations, and perspectives. Among these are the “Exiles”, the parts that carry our most vulnerable and painful feelings, often rooted in early experience. Putnam’s ongoing interest in this theory became the starting point for a series of studio experiments that evolved into this sculptural series.
Each piece in Exiles is based on variations of rounded, orb-like forms that either extend outward toward the viewer or curve inward in a gesture of receptivity. The simplicity of their forms conveys a minimalist language, while their densely textured surfaces evoke a maximal sensibility. Each Exile seems to possess its own personality or stance: some bristle with spines or thorns that guard their soft interiors, while others reach outward with tender, finger-like protrusions. Still others are composed of tangled webs of fiber, thread, and string that wrap around the forms organically, with stray threads forming delicate halos. Putnam imagines these filaments as “feelers”, tentatively reaching toward connection. Yet another incarnation features veils of thread that partially conceal the fragile membranes beneath. Asymmetrical, freckle-like spots appear throughout the series, sometimes blooming from the surface, at other times embedded within membranes—constellations that suggest both growth and scarring, reminders of the porous boundary between what lies within and what surfaces to the outside.
The surfaces of many of the works suggest both the softness of fur and the visceral qualities of shed hair, wounds, and blemishes. They recall cocoons, as if an emerging being were suspended within. At times, the forms suggest internal organs — repositories for the emotional residue of lived experience. The stitching evokes surgical sutures, bandages, and scar tissue, turning fabric into a metaphor for the membranes that protect and sustain the body. The piercing of the needle gestures toward the pain that often accompanies healing.
Exiles reflects on the psychic defenses we construct to navigate a flawed and conformist society that rewards ruthlessness. These works suggest how our outer skins — both literal and emotional — are shaped by such pressures, and how those who feel themselves outsiders develop toughness intertwined with fragility. In their indirect, poetic way, these forms acknowledge the suffering of our cultural moment while holding space for affirmation, connection, and the hope inherent in transformation and repair.