David Robinson: Shadows of Doubt

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Image Courtesy of Newzones

David Robinson, "Podium," 2019

bronze, steel, concrete, 40.5" x 15.75" x 7"

*Temporarily Closed*

“Shadows of Doubt”, was inspired in part by the Giacometti exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. These figures are unmistakably Robinson’s, and feature his signature abstracted formal environs, but the artist has relaxed his anatomical expression to emphasize a dynamic gestural vigor.

“When you first begin, you find only darkness, and as it were a cloud of unknowing…” - Author Unknown

To search for truth, we must first understand to two realities: we must admit what we do not know – and that it might be unknowable.

Vulnerability lies at the heart of David Robinson’s art practice. “I occasionally have the good sense to remember that the work itself has better ideas than I do” he quips. But those occasions are many – his voracious appetite for diverse materials and processes reveals a deep reverence for the integrity of materials and curiosity as to what each new project may teach him. Unexpected revelations emerge for Robinson as he works, yet they only foreshadow the impact these artworks have in the broader world.

Art is a powerful mediator in our search for truth. It offers new vantage points from which we may observe, then analyze what is difficult or unresolved in our lives. While all art forms may take us on this journey, Robinson’s figurative sculpture offers a uniquely poised position with which to reflect on the path of deeper understanding.

The figures integral to David Robinson’s corpus engage the viewer’s mirror neurons – brain cells that contribute to empathy and learning. Like Whitman’s poetry Robinson’s sculpture recognizes the body as essential to every aspect of our being, and deserving of great deference and compassion. Created with deep intuition and skill, Robinson’s figures stand as potent proxies: for ourselves, for those we encounter, and for humanity as a whole.

Robinson’s figures, standing in the void of what we do not know, reveal our own visceral truths. While in that vulnerable space, we might notice that, like Robinson’s figures, we are already whole.

David Robinson studied Fine Art at The Central Technical Institute and Vancouver Community College.In 1987 he attended the Ontario College of Art and earned his Graduate Honours in Sculpture. Robinson has exhibited nationally and internationally. He has been commissioned to produce a multitude of large-scale public and private works. Robinson’s sculptures have been collected by many high profile corporate and private collections, such as Concordia University, CA, Four Seasons, BC, Hotel Arts, AB, Notre Dame College, ON, Rodin Law Firm Litigation Counsel, Calgary, AB, among others.