Robert Piepenburg was born in Detroit, MI and received his Bachelor's, Master's degree and MFA degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, three Michigan Council for the Arts Creative Artists Grants and an Outstanding Teacher of the Year award from Oakland Community College. His works appear in public and private collections from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.