Roy Tamboli
Roy Tamboli lives in Memphis, Tennessee where he was born in 1951. He is a descendant of the Delta Italians, a migration that began in 1895 from the Marche region of Italy to the Mississippi Delta just south of Memphis. Roy was raised Catholic and credits his early interest in art to looking at religious works every morning at Mass before school. He attended the University of Memphis and in 1975 he left college for a one-year pilgrimage to the museums of Europe. At the British Museum in London he persuaded officials in the Library to permit him to draw copies of uncovered drawings of Leonardo da Vinci over several days. This experience, along with exposure to classical, tribal, ancient, and religious art, as well as visiting Rodin’s studio, had an indelible effect on his work and drew him to travel the world to see firsthand more art in Africa, Asia, India, and South America. In 1984, he was a sculpture instructor at the Memphis College of Art for one year. In 1992 he completed Pangaean Disc, his third monumental sculpture and largest steel sculpture in Memphis.
Although primarly recognized for his large-scale abstract and figurative bronze and steel sculptures, Tamboli is also known for experimental and conceptual works in a wide variety of media. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the country and abroad. In 1992, he co-founded Delta Axis, a nonprofit visual arts organization located in Memphis. Tamboli currently spends part of each year in Brazil and Argentina.