ANN ROBINSON

ANN ROBINSON

Bancroft Studio Works 5 March - 30 March 2016 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

milford galleries queenstown

9A Earl Street (03) 442 6896 qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz

1

Ice Bowl #95 (Blue) (2015) cast glass, size (h x ø): 215 x 361 mm

2

Twisted Flax Pods (Blue) (2011) cast glass & aluminium, pod 1: 304 x 1304 x 147 mm, pod 2: 151 x 1355 x 221 mm

3

Geometric Vase (Dark Emerald) (2015) cast glass, size: 371 x 271 x 271 mm

4

Fern Vase #5 (Capense - Bronze / Green) (2014) cast glass, size: 507 x 335 x 337 mm

incandesc

5

Cactus Vase (Sapphire Rose) (2015) cast dichroic glass (changes colour under fluorescent light), size (h x ø): 606 x 168 mm

cent light mixed light fluorescent light

6

Curved Vase #2 (Semillon) (2013) cast glass, size: 533 x 340 x 345 mm

7

Landscape Bowl (Yellow / Amber) (2014) cast glass, size: 420 x 452 x 260 mm

8

Scallop Bowl #57 (Yellow / Amber) (2014) cast glass, size (h x ø): 250 x 385 mm

9

Fern Vase (Capense) (2014) cast glass, size: 508 x 335 x 335 mm

10

Rolled Lip Bowl (Citrine) (2013) cast glass, size (h x ø): 130 x 540 mm

mixed light incandescent light

11

Ice Bowl #89 (Hyacinth Blue) (2010) cast dichroic glass (changes colour under fluorescent light), size (h x ø): 211 x 375 mm

fluorescent light

Unite Series #2 - Earth and Sky (Pale Aqua / Lagoon) (2014) cast glass, size (h x ø): 170 x 545 mm

12

13

Scallop Bowl #56 (Blue) (2013) cast glass, size (h x ø): 260 x 380 mm

EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1

Ice Bowl #95 (Blue) (2015)

40,000

2

Twisted Flax Pods (Blue) (2011)

3

Geometric Vase (Dark Emerald) (2015)

29,000

4

Fern Vase #5 (Capense - Bronze / Green) (2014)

35,000

5

Cactus Vase (Sapphire Rose) (2015)

29,000

6

Curved Vase #2 (Semillon) (2013)

29,000

7

Landscape Bowl (Yellow / Amber) (2014)

40,000

8

Scallop Bowl #57 (Yellow / Amber) (2014)

29,000

9

Fern Vase (Capense) (2014)

35,000

10

Rolled Lip Bowl (Citrine) (2013)

POA

11

Unite Series #2 - Earth and Sky (Pale Aqua / Lagoon) (2014)

POA

12

Ice Bowl #89 (Hyacinth Blue) (2010)

40,000

13

Scallop Bowl #56 (Blue) (2013)

27,500

POA

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

Ann Robinson's glasswork is acknowledged worldwide, as is her influence on other glass artists. She is undoubtedly one of New Zealand's finest artists in any medium, and within the medium of glass sculpture is without peer. Her artistic practice stretches across several decades, yet remains constantly innovative, often challenging, and consistently of the highest quality. A pioneer and master of the lost wax glass casting technique, her works have a serene grace and unique beauty.

The current exhibition forms a small survey of works completed by Robinson at the Bancroft Studio. At Bancroft, Robinson has been able to produce much larger works than previously possible, notably the two astonishing bowls, Unite Series #2 - Earth and Sky (Pale Aqua / Lagoon) and Rolled Lip Bowl (Citrine). The exhibition is a foretaste of a significant nationwide tour of Bancroft Studio Works planned for 2017.

Robinson draws major inspiration from the land around her, especially that of her beloved Waitakere Ranges. Her works have a distinct New Zealand sensibility, their structures reflecting the foliage of the bush and the forms of the land and sea. They are deceptive works. There is an apparent simplicity in pieces such as Landscape Bowl (Yellow / Amber) and Curved Vase #2 (Semillon), yet this belies their transcendent beauty, the natural flow of their line, and the incredible skill with which they have been created.

Colour is used sparingly, yet with dexterity. The richness of the individual browns and ambers clothes them in a mantle of colour. The technically and aesthetically superb Unite Series #2 - Earth and Sky (Pale Aqua / Lagoon), created from several cast pieces precisely matched and joined, is a world in itself, the blue sky forming a perfect complement to the green sea of the base. The piece has a mercurial quality; as light catches the surfaces, new shades and tones emerge. Robinson's Ice Bowl #89 (Hyacinth Blue), with its shifting hues, take this quality even further; this piece has an astonishing nature, changing its colour completely in different lighting conditions.

The finish on the pieces - acid etched to a matt translucence on the sides, and polished to a mirror smoothness on the rims - gives the works a haunting, nebulous quality. Light enters through the clear edges, and is diffused by the etched sides, producing a liquid-like flow of colour which shifts and changes as the light conditions change. The combination of polish and etching also gives the pieces a compelling tactile quality. The sheer thickness of the glass in many of the items - a technical accomplishment in its own right - also gives the sculptures a gravity and presence. These are works to be caressed as much as they are objects to be viewed.

ANN ROBINSON b. 1944, lives Auckland

Fern Vase #3 (2014)

Internationally recognised for her sculptural cast glass works, Ann Robinson has been at the forefront of national and international glass art for many years. With a practice that stretches back more than 40 years, Robinson’s continued innovation and experimentation have spearheaded the development of New Zealand glass art and ensured her recognition as a master in her field.

Robinson draws on inspiration from the natural environment and incorporates the geometries of seed pods, leaf forms and growth patterns into her cast glass pieces. Sculpted contours, rich graduations of colour and refined surface finishes combine to create commanding works. As well as exploring the inherent characteristics of volume, mass, and texture of glass, Robinson uses it as a conduit for the passage and capture of light, an intrinsic part of the medium. The artist’s personal experience of her surroundings can be seen in the suffuse glow of a vessel which recalls the filtered light of the bush, or the sharp refractions reminiscent of sun glinting on ironsand: “[The New Zealand light] is reflected in my work. Sharp, clear, even hard, colours: strong sun yellows, yellow green forest, dark copper blue evening skies, light blue summer skies, deep blue-green seas.” (1) Ann Robinson was born in 1944 and lives in Auckland. She has achieved major national and international recognition for her accomplishments in glass. In 2001 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit, followed in 2004 by her naming as an Arts Laureate by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. In 2006 Robinson was awarded the prestigious American Glass Society’s Award for Lifetime Achievement. Robinson is represented in major international and national public collections, some of which include the Corning Museum of Glass (United States of America), the Victoria and Albert Museum (United Kingdom), the National Gallery of Victoria, (Australia), the Auckland Museum and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

1. Ann Robinson, Artist statement, 1995.

Ann Robinson 2016 CV P a g e |1

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

ANN ROBINSON b. 1944, lives Auckland EDUCATION 1980

DipFA, University of Auckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016 2014 2013 2012 2010 2009 2008 2006 2005 2002-03 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995 1994

1993 1992 1984

Ann Robinson: Bancroft Studio Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Earth & Sky, Milford Galleries Dunedin BRIM, FHE Galleries, Auckland Capital, Page Blackie Gallery The Thick and Thin of It, milford galleries queenstown Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown Abundance, FHE Galleries, Auckland Celebrating the Recession, Milford Galleries Dunedin Divaricate, FHE Galleries, Auckland A Trans Tasman Sampler, Axia Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia Ann Robinson, R Duane Reed, ST Louis, Missouri, USA A Sombre Take, FHE G2 Galleries, Auckland Pacific Rim: Ann Robinson's Glass, Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington Ann Robinson: Light from New Zealand, Gallerie Jean Claude Chapellotte, Luxembourg Old Zeal: New Zeal, Axia Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia Adrift, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA Ann Robinson, Casting Light: A Survey of Glass Castings 1981-1997, Dowse Art Museum Wellington and New Gallery, Auckland Tall Poppies, Lopdell House Gallery, Waitakere A Point in Time, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Ann Robinson: A Survey, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA Ann Robinson at Masterworks, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Galerie L, Hamburg, Germany From Fantasy to Function V, Kurts Bingham Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee, USA Ann Robinson, Grand opening of Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA Masterworks Gallery, Parnell, Auckland Artisan Centre, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015

2014

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

2007 2006 2005

Summer Selection, Artis Gallery, Auckland Botanical Studies, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington.

Solid Colour: Part I, Trish Clark Gallery, Auckland Aurora, Milford Galleries Dunedin Earl Street Journal, milford galleries queenstown Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin RE-VISION, Trish Clark Gallery, Auckland Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown The Review, milford galleries queenstown Chosen, milford galleries queenstown Traverse, Milford Galleries Dunedin Bloom, milford galleries queenstown Luminaries, Sabia Gallery, Sydney, Australia Looking Glass, Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown Smart works: Design and the Handmade, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney 111, with Elizabeth McClure and Emily Siddell, FHE Galleries, Auckland Contemporary Glass, Group Show, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Garden Varieties, with Bronwyn Cornish and Fran Allison, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Axia Modern Art, Sydney, Australia

Ann Robinson 2016 CV P a g e |2

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2003-04 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991 1990 1989-91 1988

1987 1986 1983 1982 1981

Glass Invitational, Milford Galleries Dunedin, Milford Galleries Queenstown, travelling to Auckland Museum, Auckland, Pataka, Petone, and Canterbury Museums, Christchurch Southern Exposure, NZ Soc of Artists in Glass travelling exhibition to Ebeltof, Denmark.

Is As, Landscape as a Metaphor, Milford Galleries Dunedin Glass Invitational, Touring exhibition, Milford Galleries Dunedin Transparent Things, National Gallery of Australia in partnership with the Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery, Australia Creativity and Collaboration, Pilchuck Glass School's 30 Years, Bumbershoot 2000 Seattle Centre, Seattle, Washington, USA New Zealand Glass, Axia Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia Inaugural Exhibition, John Elder Gallery, New York, USA Art in Glass '97, Editions Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee, USA Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, WA (w/ Frantisek Vizner and Daniel Clayman) Introductions VII, Lisa Kurts Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee, USA Celia Kennedy Gallery, Queenstown Mastercast, Glass Artist Gallery, Sydney, Australia SOFA Miami Exposition, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA The Vessel Aesthetic, Kavesh Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho, USA A Powerful Presence: Pilchuck Glass School’s 25 Years, Bumbershoot, Rainier Room at the Seattle Centre, Seattle, Washington, USA Breaking the Mold: New Kilnformed Glass, Heller Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida, USA Glass from the Pacific Rim, Art Department Gallery, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA Parriott, Perkins and Robinson, Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition a Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois, USA (Kate Elliott Contemporary Glass) Annual Pilchuck Exhibition, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA Pilchuck Glass Exhibition, SeaTac Airport, Seattle, Washington, USA Cribbs, Marioni and Robinson, Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition at Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois, USA (Kate Elliott Contemporary Glass) Contemporary Kilnformed Glass, Contemporary Crafts Centre Portland, Oregon, USA Glass Now ‘92, Tokyo, Japan International Directions in Glass, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Treasures of the Underworld, Seville, Spain The Executive Suite, Crafts Council Gallery, Wellington New Zealand Glass Review, Compendium Gallery, Auckland New Zealand Crafts Council, Wellington Australian Kilnformed Glass, touring the USA; Kurland/Summers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Heller Gallery, New York; Habatat Gallery, Detroit, USA Australian Kilnformed Glass, Craft Council Gallery of ACT, Australia World Glass Now ‘88, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Hokkaido, Japan Stones in Glass Houses, Villas Gallery, Wellington New Zealand Expo Exposition of Craft, Brisbane, Australia Winstone Biennale, Auckland Museum, Auckland Phillips Glass Exhibition, Auckland Museum, Auckland Sunbeam Glassworks, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, Wellington Glass ‘83, touring New Zealand Fragile Art, Northern Regional Crafts Council, touring New Zealand Glass ‘81, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland

HONORS, AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, COMMISSIONS, APPOINTMENTS 2009 2006 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Installed commissioned Font, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland Life Time Achievement Award by the Glass Arts Society of America 2006 Waitakere City Arts Laureate Award 2004 Arts Laureate Awarded by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Guest speaker Northlands Glass Conference of CGA Elected recipient of the D.I.N.Z. 'John Britten Award' for contribution to Design Awarded the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. ( O.N.Z.M) Guest speaker Conference ‘Transparency in Glass’, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Faculty; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, USA

Ann Robinson 2016 CV P a g e |3

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1996 1991

Faculty; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, USA Faculty; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, USA “Treasures from the Underworld,” commission for New Zealand Expo Exhibition, Seville, Spain 1990, 92 93 Guest Faculty; Carrington Polytechnic, Auckland 1990, 92 Guest Faculty; Canberra School of Art, ACT, Australia 1987 Winstone Biennale Award 1986 Phillips Glass Award Travel Grant to USA, Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council 1984 Phillips Glass Award 1983, 84, 91 Equipment Grant, Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council

COLLECTIONS Auckland Museum, Auckland Bellevue Public Library, Bellevue WA, USA Corning Museum of Glass, Corning NY, USA Dowse Gallery, Lower Hutt Irvin J. Borowsky, Philadelphia, PA Karen Johnson Boyd, Racine, Wisconsin Robert McDougal Gallery, Christchurch Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA, USA National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

National Museum of New Zealand, Wellington Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia Stadtmuseum, Gottingen, Germany Saint Paul Companies, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K.

SELECTED ARTICLES 2010 2008 2003 2001

Wood, D, Ann Robinson: Casting Mistress, Neues Glas, Spring 2010 (1/10),pp 32 - 39 Chappell, Dan, Defining Light and Space, Art News, Spring, pp 57-58 (attached) Simpson Peter (FOA ENG), An Act of Love, Art New Zealand Object Lessons, Original Art by Guild Artists, Beauty and Meaning in Art. Guild Publishing, Madison, U.S.A., pp 22 2001 Klein, Dan Artists In Glass: Late Twentieth Century Masters In Glass Mitchell Beazley Millers, Octopus Publishing Group, London, England, pp 197-198.

1999 In Review New Glass Review, Corning Museum of Glass,2/00, pp 104 - 111 1998 Edwards, Geoffrey Art Of Glass, Glass in the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria pg 204 1998 Ann Robinson Casting Light: A Survey of Glass Castings 1981-1997, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand 1996 Wichert, Geoffrey, Glass, No 65, Winter, pp. 36-39 1994 Kangas, Matthew, Glass, No 55, Spring, pp 51 1996 Layton, Peter, Glass Art, pp. 64, (illus) pp 65.

1993 New Glass Review, Corning Museum of Glass, pp 92.

1993 Sapolin, Donna, Glass Conscienceness Departures, April/May 1993, pp 76-81, (illus) pp 78 1992 Contemporary Kilnformed Glass, Contemporary Crafts Association, Portland, Oregon; pp 64-65 1992/1 Shamroth, Helen, Glass Art in New Zealand Neues Glass Magazine, pp 40-46 1989 Klein, Dan, Glass: A Contemporary Art Rizzoli; pp 208 1989 Australia Kilnformed Glass; Australia Council for the Arts and Kurland/Summers Gallery; pp. 16-17 1988 World Glass Now '88, Hokkaido Museum, Japan 1988 Ioannou, Norris, Australian Studio Glass, pp 80-92

Twisted Flax Pods (2011-14)

Ann Robinson 2016 CV P a g e |4

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz