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JAMES ROBINSON – Rock Action – 4-28 April, 2017

10001110101 Full Fathom Five, Audio Field Recordings, Clutch by James Robinson

Sand: a fragment of rock ground to small size by earth’s processes.
Sandstone: a type of sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand that has compressed and hardened.

These new paintings by James Robinson are the result of process. And in James’s process he reflects the dynamic of the earth. Formation, erosion. Accumulation, dispersal. Coagulation, dissolution. Rock, wind, ice, rain, spray, waves, sand.
Gods Money, Gods Money, Gang Gang Dance by James Robinson    Mata, Mountaineater, Split Single, by James Robinson    Picture of Romance, Stones Records Woman, Acid Mother Temple, by James Robinson
The paintings are both material and visual. Images will have appeared and disappeared while paint, plastic, cloth and grit were still fluid layers on the surface. Thoughts, too, would have flooded in and out, perhaps leaving traces, perhaps not. When we look at these works in their finished state, we see a process stilled, a series of captured moments in which construction and deconstruction appear simultaneously, a group of works with a history of deep engagement with their creator.

But we are not he. We come to the work from our own standpoint so our engagement will be different. We can investigate them as archaeologists might, look through the material layers for clues to earlier epochs. Or one may pore over them in the mode of an anthropologist – sifting through accumulated detritus to speculate on human civilisation. It is a testament of James Robinson’s ability as an artist that these works project visual surety in the abstract idiom. They mould randomness into significance while still providing form, structure and pictorial coherence. Plastic, glass, hooks, lids, shells, rings, nails. Each piece settles into place.
Vicarious, 10000 Days, Tool, by James Robinson    Pulp, Street Cleaner, Godflesh (SOLD), by James Robinson    Ashes to Ashes, Who Cares A lot, Faith No More by James Robinson
James Robinson’s philosophy and his process come together in these meditative works. In recent years he has been investigating our relationship to the planet – its minerality, its biodiversity – and looking for where to place himself both physically and spiritually within that sphere. To this end he has been reading/watching/listening to thinkers such as Donna Haraway, particularly her discussion of Cthulucence, and Timothy Mortons and his notion of Hyper Objects.

Rock Action. Music. The Titles.
The painting titles each correspond to a piece of music: track name, album, band. They were selected at random, using autoplay, from music James was listening to while making this work.

Psychic Map: mental health meta data. These one hundred and forty-seven diaristic drawings wander, wonder and meander through the landscape of the mind. On that terrain he questions his identity. He broods, speculates, worries, plays, makes jokes, takes delight. He doesn’t hold back, they are unfiltered by shyness. Through drawing James has made a place where he can be totally honest. He says they are like prayer flags.

Marian Maguire

VIDEO piece about James Robinson’s practice 2017

Zero Point by James RobinsonSooper Pussy, Sooper Pussy, Sooper Pussy (After Big Black) by James Robinson

www.jamesrobinson.nz

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James Robinson was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1972 and currently lives in Port Chalmers, Dunedin. He completed a Bachelor Of Fine Arts, Otago School of Fine Arts in 2000, Diploma In Art And Craft, Hungry Creek School of Art and Craft, 1996 and Foundation In Fine Art, Nelson Polytechnic, 1990.

Robinson has exhibited regularly in private and public galleries both nationally and internationally. In 2007 he was awarded the prestigious Wallace Art residency in New York. In 2008 he was artist in residence at McCahon House Titirangi and was resident artist at Tylee Cottage, Whanganui later the same year. In 2019 he won People’s Choice award at the Parkin Award exhibition in Wellington with a In and Out, a large work from his Pyramid series. His work is urgently thoughtful, honest and direct. This is particularly evident in his drawings. Through creative exploration of materials he maps the territory of his psyche.

James Robinson’s work is held in numerous public, private and corporate collections throughout New Zealand and Australia such as James Wallace Trust Collection, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu, Eastern Southland Gallery, Ashburton Art Gallery, Te Manawa Museum, Otago University and New Contemporaries collection, Sydney.

Exhibitions at PG gallery192:
Witches’ Song, 2023
EDGELAND, 2020
Rock Action, 2017
Anthropocene and Asylum, 2015

2020 Artist Feature

Majic Defends Itself – artist talk
Video about James Robinson’s practice, 2017
David Eggleton poetry with mural OLD BRAIN 3

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For more information about James Robinson:
www.jamesrobinson.nz