Robin Barcus Slonina

Robin Barcus Slonina (born 19 April 1971) is a multi-disciplinary, contemporary artist.

Barcus Slonina grew up in the Chicago area and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993. She married Jim Slonina in 2007.

Barcus Slonina's work has been exhibited at the Evanston Arts Center in Evanston, Illinois; the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Compton Verney Art Museum in Warwickshire, England; the Smart Museum of Art, The Peace Museum, The Contemporary Arts Workshop, and Artemisia Gallery in Chicago, Illinois; New York Mills Cultural Center in New York Mills, Minnesota; Atomic Todd Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada as well as many other galleries and museums. In 2006, she opened Skin City Body Painting in Las Vegas, Nevada, which provides professional body paint, makeup, and hair styling to customers. The company specializes in models, entertainers, and acrobatic talent for promotions, events, conventions, and parties.

Barcus Slonina, along with RuPaul, and Craig Tracy, serves as a judge on Skin Wars, a body painting reality competition hosted by Rebecca Romijn that began airing on GSN in August 2014.

Contestants on the series perform challenges containing body painting each episode. At the end of each episode, one contestant is eliminated.

In 2005, Barcus Slonina started the "States of Dress" project, an ongoing series of interactive, site-specific dress sculptures with one created in each of the 50 states. The ongoing project largely incorporates materials indigenous to the respective state such as:

• Illinois - "Red Dress" 1999. Dress made from 28 used dresses. 25' long and 18' wide at base. Northbrook, IL.
• Minnesota - "Corn Dress" 2004. Welded steel frame and corn. 14' tall. New York Mills, MN.
• Iowa - "Prairie Grass Dress" 2005. Life-size wire frame and prairie grass. Toddville, IA.
• Wisconsin - "White Pine Dress" 2005. Wire frame, white pine branches, ladder. 10' tall. Seely, WI
• Wyoming - "Willow Creek Dress" 2006. Woven willow branches floated on Lower Piney Creek. 15' long. Banner, WY.
• Maine - "Pinecone Dress" 2006. Wire frame and pine cones. 8' tall. Westport Island, ME.
• Nevada - "Casino Chip Dress" 2008. Casino chips and zip ties. Boulder City, NV.

• "Dress Sculptures Made of Unusual Materials by Robin Barcus Slonina" by EDW Lynch, July 29, 2014. Laughing Squid
• "The Garbage Dress" by John Farrier, July 29, 2014. Neatorama
• “Couture Clothing Right Out of the Bins” by Beth Schwartz, June 2008. Polished Magazine Las Vegas, NV
• "Look: The sponge dress, and other delights" by Greg Thilmont, April 29, 2008. Las Vegas Weekly Las Vegas, NV
• “Robin Barcus: State of Dress” by Miguel Cortez, Fall, 2005. Polvo Magazine Chicago, IL
• “The Great Dress–scape” by Leah Petrusiak, May 5, 2005. Time Out Chicago Magazine Chicago, IL
• “Corn Dress” September 26, 2004. ABC News Alexandria, MN.
• “They will Come: Chicago Artist Creates Art in Corn Field” September 23, 2004. The Daily Journal Fergus Falls, MN.
• “The Perham Show” Visiting Artist Feature September 9, 2004. Channel 3 News Perham, MN
• “Window Art” September 5, 2004. ABC News Chicago, IL
• “Five Shows to See Now” July 8, 1999 New City Chicago, IL
• “Art Attack” Jan / Feb issue, 1999. UR Magazine Chicago, IL
• “Robin Barcus – Multi-Disciplinary Artist” Fall / Winter issue, 1998. In the Loop Magazine Chicago, IL
• “Windows Mural Project” August, 1998. WGN-TV News Chicago, IL
• “Field Trip: Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition is a Natural for Art Lovers” March 13, 1998. The Dallas Morning News Dallas, TX
• “Test Site” Exhibition Review Dec / Jan issue, 1998. Gravy Online Magazine