{{short description|American architect}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}{{Infobox artist | name = Robert Mihaly | image = | image_size = 220px | caption = The Fallsoleum, Robert Mihaly, 2005 | birth_name = Robert Aaron Mihaly | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|01|08}} | birth_place = Akron, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | known_for = Castle Mont Rouge<br>Conceptual art<br>Sculpture<br>Painting | education = | movement = | notable_works = | partner = | children = | patrons = Duke University, East Carolina University, United States Postal Service | influenced by = | influenced = | awards = }}
'''Robert Aaron Mihaly''' (born January 8, 1967) is an American stone sculptor, conceptual artist, and painter.
==Early life== Mihaly was born in Akron, Ohio. Largely self-educated, he dropped out of Kent State University and moved to North Carolina.<ref name=WSJ>Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1997. pg. A.1</ref><ref name=durham>''The Durham News (N&O)'', A Castle Takes Shape in Rougemont, Elizabeth Shestak, Nov 3–4, 2007. pg. A.1</ref>
== Career == At the age of 21, he was awarded $10,000 in a national college entrepreneur contest.<ref name="WSJ1988">''Wall Street Journal'', "North Carolina Freshman Wins Entrepreneur Contest," February 23, 1988, p. 1</ref> His business plan to design and sell artistic architectural ornaments was selected from 600 other proposals.<ref name="WSJ1988" />
In 1996–97, Mihaly was the Artist in Residence at Washington National Cathedral,<ref>Bill Miller, "Carved In Controversy; Cathedral Wins Battle With Artist, ''Washington Post'', 2 October 1997</ref> during which Mihaly attempted to transform a {{convert|24000|lb|adj=on}} Vermont marble block into an angel. The cathedral came to see the stone and scaffolding as an eyesore and safety hazard, and removed the structure, leaving Mihaly unable to work. Mihaly unsuccessfully sued the cathedral in small-claims court for breach of contract.<ref>"Cathedral didn't break contract with artist, judge holds in ruling", ''Wall Street Journal'', October 2, 1997, p. C5</ref>
In 2002, Duke University commissioned Mihaly for the first gargoyles at Duke since the construction of the Gothic-styled West Campus,<ref name=wilson /> to honor Aubrey and Kathleen McClendon, a couple who gave $5.5 million for a new dorm.<ref name=athens>"Athens Banner-Herald", Duke to take down gargoyles modeled after wealthy donors, by Aaron Beard, November 9, 2002.</ref> The Gothic west campus has more than 100 gargoyles perched upon buildings, but Mihaly's two new sculptures did not entertain the wealthy donors they were intended to honor,<ref name=wilson /> and were subsequently removed from the building.
===Sculpture===
Mihaly's sculptural work includes angels,<ref name=edwards>{{cite book |title=Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers |author=Edwards,Elizabeth |publisher=Broadway |date=September 2006 |isbn=0-7679-2537-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/savinggraces00eliz }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oakdalecemetery.org/docs/Oakdale_newsletter_summer2007.pdf|title=Inside Oakdale, Watching Over Him Again, Summer, 2007 by Catherine Solomon and Eric Kozen|accessdate=August 29, 2019}}</ref> gargoyles,<ref name=wilson>{{cite web |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/wilson-daily-times-nov-09-2002-p-7/ |title=Duke donors want structures removed |date=November 9, 2002 |publisher=Wilson Daily Times |accessdate=July 6, 2018}}</ref><ref name=hart>''Chapel Hill News'', "Targoyles", by Dave Hart, September 7, 2003. pg. C.1</ref> an elaborate gothic mausoleum,<ref name=metro>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=22|title=Metro Magazine, Robert Mihaly: Renaissance Sculptor in Person County, August, 2005 by Diane Lea|accessdate=August 29, 2019|archive-date=July 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716115247/http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=22|url-status=dead}}</ref> and four tractor-trailer loads of stonework that he carved for a miniature Renaissance villa.<ref name=WSJ /><ref name=durham />
Mihaly's collection of gargoyles from popular town and gown characters of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are on top of the restaurant, Top of the Hill, overlooking the central crossroads of Franklin and Columbia Streets.<ref name="hart" /> Each gargoyle has UNC rams horns. The characters include athletes Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, and Julius Peppers as well as the street's namesake, Ben Franklin.<ref name=hart /><ref name="chapel hill partnership">''Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership'', "Holiday Window Display Winner", by Liz Parham , December 8, 2006.http://www.downtownchapelhill.com/pdfs/Window_Display_Winner_2006.pdf</ref>
Client Elizabeth Edwards and her husband, Senator John Edwards, commissioned Mihaly to carve the headstone of their deceased son, Wade, out of a 24,000 pound block of Vermont marble.<ref name=WSJ /><ref name=edwards /> Edwards was "enchanted and confused" by the "weird and wonderful" artist, yet felt the sculpture of an angel caressing her child was "extraordinary".<ref name=edwards /> The {{convert|10|ft|adj=on}} tall monument is in Raleigh's Historic Oakwood Cemetery.<ref name=CharObs>The Charlotte Observer, "Soaring Success, Crushing Loss" Anna Griffin, August 19, 2003</ref> Mihaly also designed the monument in Historic Oakwood Cemetery for Edwards after her death in 2010 from breast cancer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wral.com/oakwood-monument-connects-elizabeth-edwards-son/13542181/|title=Oakwood monument connects Elizabeth Edwards, son|date=April 4, 2014|website=WRAL.com|accessdate=August 29, 2019}}</ref>
===Conceptual art===
During the March 7, 2009 opening of Mihaly's Duke University solo exhibit at the Louise Jones Brown Gallery, ''A Pantheon of Modern Gods: An Anthropological Expedition into Corridors of Power,'' Mihaly paced the gallery, lecturing with a small sculpture entitled ''Cherub'' cradled in his arms, in front of visitors.<ref name=artdaily>{{Cite web|url=http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=29713|title=Gods of Power and Greed Clash with Human Bones and Depleted Uranium at Duke Art Show|website=artdaily.com|accessdate=August 29, 2019}}</ref> All the works in the exhibition were accompanied by quotations.<ref name=finch>Claire Finch, [https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2009/03/mihaly-offers-send-modern-idolatry-sculpture-paintings "Mihaly offers send-up of modern idolatry in sculpture, paintings"] ''The Duke Chronicle'', Paintings, March 26, 2009</ref>
The Gallery manager Rachel Pea described the art as "edgy" and "one of the more in-your-face sort of exhibits" since it challenges the viewer's ideas on the fabric of society: war, politics, money and religion.<ref name=shestak>[http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1433585.html News and Observer, Artist Gives an Edge to His Study of Power, March 8, 2009 by Elizabeth Shestak]</ref>
Mihaly's work "conveys illuminating social commentary" about "frightening political possibilities".<ref name=finch /> ''The Goddess of Eugenics'' is an oil on linen replication of Botticelli's ''The Birth of Venus'', except Venus's body is pierced with bullet holes and dripping authentic blood.<ref name=finch /> The Zephyrs blow symbols of radiation and biohazard waste rather than the west wind.<ref name=finch /> Mihaly's description of the painting alludes to intricate plots by world leaders to cleanse the population.{{Clarify|date=April 2009}}<ref name=finch /> [[File:castle-mont-rouge.jpg|thumb|Castle Mont Rouge in the snow, Rougemont, North Carolina ]] ===Architecture=== Mihaly's former part-time country estate and studio is called Castle Mont Rouge.<ref name=durham /><ref name=rr>Rougemont Reporter, Castle Mont Rouge, Summer, 2006, P.10</ref> The castle, located on Red Mountain in Rougemont, North Carolina, features onion domes like Eastern Orthodox churches and oxidized copper cupolas.<ref name=metro /><ref name=hicks>This Month at Duke, A Secret Spot, by Sally Hicks, August 2007, cover story</ref>
Much rumor and lore has been built around the castle and its creator, Robert Mihaly.<ref name="cleven">''The News and Observer'', "A castle? A Work of Art? Mont Rouge is a labor of love", Adrianne Cleven, 3 Nov 2019, 1D</ref><ref name="cleven2">''The Herald Sun'', “Castle Mont Rouge in Rougemont is art oddity, labor of love”, Adrianne Cleven, 3 Nov 2019, 1A.</ref><ref name="beach">''The Roxboro Courier-Times'', "Castle Mont Rouge offers Magic for Many", Cameron Beach, 31 Dec 2019, IA</ref><ref name="wral">{{Cite web |last=WRAL |date=2019-11-17 |title=Sculptor hopes to turn Rougemont castle into public venue |url=https://www.wral.com/sculptor-hopes-to-turn-rougemont-castle-into-public-venue/18773398/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=WRAL.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/north-carolina/castle-mont-rouge-nc/|title = This Hidden, Abandoned Castle in North Carolina Has a Mysterious Past|date = July 22, 2016}}</ref> Mihaly referenced the rumor about the death of his wife in a televised news story, acknowledging that he is not a widower. <ref name="cleven"/><ref name="cleven2"/><ref name="beach"/><ref name="wral"/>
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==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [http://www.robertmihaly.com/ Official Robert Mihaly Website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihaly, Robert}} Category:Living people Category:1967 births Category:Artists from Akron, Ohio Category:20th-century American architects Category:20th-century American painters Category:Kent State University people Category:Sculptors from Ohio Category:21st-century American painters Category:20th-century American sculptors