Robert  Race       About the Artist        

Robert Race
Robert Race has been a full-time toymaker for over thirty years.Starting with dolls’ houses and miniature furniture he has subsequently concentrated on moving toys and simple automata, which have been widely exhibited in Britain, Europe and beyond.

His work is represented in the collections of:
Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London
Japan Museum of Contemporary Toy, Okayama, Japan
Arima Toys and Automata Museum, Hyogo, Japan.
Arts Council (South East) Craft Collection.


Since 1991 he has been an active member of the British Toymakers Guild and was Chairman from 2003 to 2006.

In September 2005 he appeared at Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan as a specially invited guest of the World Karakuri Contest.
He was one of the resident makers at Exempla 2002 Welt des Holzes, a special exhibition for the 54th IHM at Munich, returning for Exempla 2013 Craft on the Move.  He was invited again for Exempla 2020 50 years-Special Show, sadly cancelled because of the spread of the COVID 19 virus .  He also appeared in Munich as part of a “Living Workshop” at Heim und Handwerk in 1998 and in 2003.

Commissions have included Exhibition design for Transformations-the Art of Recycling at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford (March 2000-Sept 2002), a collection of Victorian optical toys for Sutton House, Hackney (National Trust), and mechanical donation boxes for Black Swan Arts, Frome; Salisbury Playhouse;  Victoria Art Gallery, Bath; and Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester.

Drawing on his previous experience - teaching science and running a teachers' centre - he still occasionally works with adults and children, using his own work and a collection of moving toys from around the world as a resource for education.  He has until recently offered short courses in making automata and moving toys at West Dean College
 He has written two books:  Making Simple Automata, 2014, and Making Moving Toys and Automata, 2018, both published by The Crowood Press
 

Home  |   About the Artist  |  Gallery  |  Prices  |  News  |  Links