David Robinson's Conditional Figures
1 of 3
David Robinson, "Forced Perspective," 2007
wall mounted bronze, 52" x 8" x 15" (installation height variable)
2 of 3
David Robinson, "Binary Vision," 2003
wall mounted polymer-gypsum, glass and steel, 90.5" x 45" x 20.5"
3 of 3
David Robinson, "Queen," 2009
paper and resin, 43" x 16" x 16"
Vancouver sculptor David Robinson is interested in the human body. An artist for the last 25 years, he describes his work as humanist realism that explores basic, often metaphysical, questions about existence.
His show, The Conditional Figure, at the Pendulum Gallery in Vancouver until July 21, includes a dozen pieces that span the last decade, often showing the body in a dynamic way.
His paper-and-resin sculpture, Draped Figure, for instance, features a reclining figure almost at the point of falling. The sculpture, made in 2009, started from a loose sketch of a suspended figure, a common theme in his work.
“A lot of them have been grappling in some way with their means of suspension,” he says. “It was interesting to me to remove that grappling, struggling, aspect and have the figure quite limp and leaning into the space in a different way.”
Robinson says working with paper encourages intuitive exploration. “The way that material would hang and sway, and the weight of that form in the middle, begat this notion that the figure could almost be slipping, in the precarious moment of almost falling from that cradling hammock-type form.”
David Robinson, "Draped Figure," 2009
paper and resin, 31" x 44" x 15"
The work thus becomes both a psychological and metaphorical commentary on the human condition.
Robinson uses a range of media – everything from bronze, iron, steel and silver to polymer-gypsum, cement and hydrostone – and his work varies in size.
Originally from Toronto, he studied at the Ontario College of Art and has exhibited nationally and internationally. He is represented by the Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art in Calgary.
Pendulum Gallery
885 W Georgia St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3E8
please enable javascript to view
Mon to Wed 9 am - 6 pm, Thur and Fri 9 am - 9 pm, Sat 9 am - 5 pm.
Free
