Guest Artist – David Robinson
Artist Information
Artist Website: https://www.robinsonstudio.com/
Born in Toronto, David Robinson entered the Fine Arts stream in high school specializing in sculpture. He continued his studies at Langara College and became an Honours Graduate in the Sculpture Program at the Ontario College of Art. For over 30 years, Vancouver, Canada has been his residence where his art practice has flourished.
Robinson's striking sculptures incorporate a variety of materials ranging from bronze, steel and silver to concrete, mirror and paper. While his oeuvre is the figure, he often adds psychological and mythological twists to his subjects by situating them in environments that speak to the inherent tensions of human life. Robinson has a deep reverence for imagery and symbolism, and this, combined with his remarkable skill, allows the viewer to surmise and discover the allegorical through contemporary form.
Robinson says, “It seems to me that my sculptures, before they are anything else, are manifestations of fitful waking dreams; narratives whole and smashed, images and ideas all distilled through the passage of time and the particular resistance of matter.”
Robinson has produced numerous solo shows, and participated in many group exhibits nationally and internationally. His sculptures have been commissioned by such clients as Polygon Homes, the Four Seasons Hotel Resort in Whistler, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, and Century Group. His work is in many private and corporate collections including the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Dentons Canada LLP, Painted Rock Estate Winery, Toronto Dominion Bank, and Vancouver General Hospital.
Residence: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Born: 1964, Toronto, ON, Canada
Selected Exhibitions
2022 Plight & Aplomb, Gallery 133, Toronto, ON (solo)
2019 Shadows of Doubt, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (solo)
2019 Shadows of Doubt, Parker Projects, Vancouver, BC (solo)
2019 Form and Focus, Parker Projects, Vancouver, BC
2018 Unseated, Parker Projects, Vancouver, BC
2018 The Contemporary Figure, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2017 Moving Matter, Robinson Studio Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 The Conditional Figure, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, BC (solo)
2017 Muscle / Memory, Robinson Studio Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 Newzones Gallery at Art Market San Francisco, CA
2015 Semblances, Duthie Gallery, Saltspring Island, BC (solo)
2014 New Works, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2014 Summer Exhibition, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2014 Dead Reckoning, Duthie Gallery, Saltspring Island, BC (solo)
2013 David Robinson, Duthie Gallery, Saltspring Island, BC (solo)
2013 Form and Figure, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2012 Bridge, Lookout Gallery, Regent College, UBC, Vancouver, BC (solo)
2012 Terminal City Club, Vancouver, BC (solo)
2011 Corpus/Geist, Newzones Gallery, Calgary, AB (solo)
2011 David Robinson Recent Works, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver, BC (solo)
2009 Group Exhibit, TBA, Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX
2009 Works on (in) Paper (working title), Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (solo)
2008 Newzones Gallery – David Robinson Recent Works (solo)
2008 The Art of Politics, Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX
2007 Inaugural Exhibition, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2007 Solo exhibit, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (solo)
2007 “31”, Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX
2006 Maquettes and Lesser Digressions, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (solo)
2005 A Broken Beauty, Gordon College, Wenham, MA – (traveling)
2005 Precipitations, Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX (solo)
2005 Surface Tension, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (solo)
2003 Device and Desire, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB (solo)
2002 Exploring the Figure, Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2001 The Sculpture of David Robinson, Gallery Telpaz, Kanata, ON (solo)
2001 Four Sculptors, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB
2001 Myth Begotten Monuments, Ceperley House, Burnaby, BC
2000 Interval, Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver, BC (solo)
1999 On Holy Ground, Reflections On Biblical Images, Lookout Gallery, UBC, Vancouver, BC (solo)
1998 Introductions, gallery artists, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, AB
1998 Mass and Memory, Bau Xi Gallery, Toronto, ON (solo)
1998 Metaxu, group exhibit, Amelia Douglas Gallery, New Westminster, BC
1997 Means and Ends, The Sculpture of David Robinson, Evergreen Gallery, Coquitlam, BC (solo)
1997 Inhabitants, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC (solo)
1996 Makeshift Matter, Lookout Gallery, Regent College, University of British Columbia (solo)
1996 H x W x D, Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1993 Recent Work, Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC (solo)
1993 London Life Young Contemporaries, London Regional Art Gallery, London, ON
1992 Small Works, Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1992 Exalted Humans, Recent Sculpture by David Robinson, Lookout Gallery, Regent College, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Selected Awards
2017 Outstanding Alumni Award, Langara College, Vancouver, BC
1993 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Montreal, PQ, Grant
1987 Samuel Lazar Kagan Award for Fourth-Year Sculpture, OCA, Toronto, Ontario
1986 Samuel Lazar Kagan Award for Third-Year Sculpture, OCA, Toronto, Ontario
1984 Second-Year Sculpture Award Scholarship, VCC and Fairey & Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC
1983 First-Year Sculpture Award Scholarships, VCC and Fairey & Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC
Biography
1979 Fine Arts Program, Central Technical School, Toronto, ON
1982-85 Fine Arts Program, Langara College, Vancouver, BC
1985-87 Honours Graduate in Fine Arts, Sculpture Program, Ontario College of Art, Toronto, ON
1987-88 Teaching Assistant, Sculpture Program, Ontario College of Art, Toronto, ON
1997-98 Sculpture Instructor, Vancouver Academy of Art, Vancouver, BC
Currently working in Vancouver, BC
Selected Collections
- Austeville Properties, Vancouver, BC
- BC Transmission Corp. Vancouver, BC
- BC Turf Inc., Burnaby, BC
- Catalyst Capital, Toronto, ON
- City of New Westminster, BC
- City of Richmond, Richmond, BC
- Civic Hotel, Surrey, BC
- Concordia University, Irvine, California
- Copper Lion Capital, Vancouver, BC
- Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver, BC
- Fort McMurray Airport Authority, AB
- Four Seasons Hotel Resort, Whistler, BC
• McAlpine and Associates, Vancouver, BC
• North America-Hotel Arts, Calgary, AB
• Painted Rock Estate Winery, Penticton, BC
• Paul Sangha Creative, Vancouver, BC
• Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, AB - Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver, B
• Toronto Dominion Bank, Calgary, AB
• Trent University, Peterborough, ON
• West Coast Reduction, Vancouver, BC
• Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC
Bibliography
- MacGillivray, Sage. What Vancouver’s divisive ‘Spinning Chandelier’… The Globe and Mail, January 2020
- Fuglie, Gordon L. Levity and Gravity: The Sculpture of David Robinson, Image, Spring 2015
- Wilkinson, Loren & Robinson, Harry. Holy Tensions, CRUX, Spring 2014
- Reynolds, Travis. Welcome to the Revitalized Bronze Age, Calgary Herald, August 2005
- Dobbs, Sarah. A week in the life of artist David Robinson, Vancouver Sun, October 2003
- Todd, Douglas. Easter Art That Inspires, Provokes, Vancouver Sun, March 29, 2002
- van Slyke, Bruce. Suspended Belief, Espace, September, 2002
- van Slyke, Bruce. Interval – the conditional monuments of David Robinson, Espace, June 2001
- Scott, Michael. Religious Studies, Vancouver Sun, December 16, 1999
- Gustafson, Paula. Inhabitants, Espace, January, 1998
- Scott, Michael. Cutting Fine Figures, Vancouver Sun, October 8, 1997
- Gustafson, Paula. Nude Everymen Make Revealing Connections, Georgia Straight, June, 1997
- Link, Barry. Naked Introspection, Richmond News, June, 1997
- Kangas, Matthew. David Robinson at Diane Farris, Art in America, October, 1996
- Great Work! An Overview of British Columbia Artists, Melanie Gold Art advisory Ltd., 1996
- Bale, Douglas. Young Contemporaries Exhibition, London Free Press, September, 1993
- Dykk, Lloyd. In His Own Image, Vancouver Sun, March, 1993
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