ANN ROBINSON

Ice Bowl #95 (Blue) (2015)

cast glass, size (h x ø): 215 x 361 mm

Twisted Flax Pods (Blue) (2011)

cast glass & aluminium, pod 1: 304 x 1304 x 147 mm, pod 2: 151 x 1355 x 221 mm

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

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

cast glass, size: 507 x 335 x 337 mm

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

incandescent

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

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

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

Fern Vase (Capense) (2014)

cast glass, size: 508 x 335 x 335 mm

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

Ice Bowl #89 (Hyacinth Blue) (2010)

cast dichroic glass (changes colour under fluorescent light), size (h x ø): 211 x 375 mm

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

cast glass, size (h x ø): 170 x 545 mm

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

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

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

FernVase#3(2014)

Internationally recognised for her sculptural cast glass works, Ann Robinson has been at the forefront of national and international glassart for many years. With a practice that stretches back more than 40 years, Robinson’s continued innovation andexperimentation 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 andincorporates the geometries of seedpods, leaf forms and growth patterns into her cast glass pieces. Sculpted contours, rich graduations of colourand refined surface finishescombine to create commanding works. As well as exploring theinherent characteristics of volume, mass, and texture of glass, Robinson uses it as a conduit for the passage andcapture of light, an intrinsic part of the medium. The artist’s personal experience of her surroundings can be seen in the suffuseglow of a vessel which recalls the filtered light of thebush, or the sharp refractions reminiscent of sun glinting on ironsand:

“[The New Zealand light] is reflected in my work. Sharp, clear, evenhard, colours: strong sun yellows, yellow green forest, darkcopperblue 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 2001she 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’sAward 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

b. 1944, lives Auckland

EDUCATION

1980 DipFA, University of Auckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016 Ann Robinson: Bancroft Studio Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2014 Earth & Sky, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2013 BRIM, FHE Galleries, Auckland

Capital, Page Blackie Gallery

2012 The Thick and Thin of It, milford galleries queenstown

2010 Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown

Abundance, FHE Galleries, Auckland

2009 Celebrating the Recession, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2008 Divaricate, FHE Galleries, Auckland

A Trans Tasman Sampler, Axia Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia

2006 Ann Robinson, R Duane Reed, ST Louis, Missouri, USA

2005 A Sombre Take, FHE G2 Galleries, Auckland

2002-03

Pacific Rim: Ann Robinson's Glass, Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington

2001 Ann Robinson: Light from New Zealand, Gallerie Jean Claude Chapellotte, Luxembourg

2000 Old Zeal: New Zeal, Axia Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia

1999 Adrift, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA

1998 Ann Robinson, Casting Light: A Survey of Glass Castings 1981-1997, Dowse Art Museum

Wellington and New Gallery, Auckland

1997 Tall Poppies, Lopdell House Gallery, Waitakere

A Point in Time, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland

1995 Ann Robinson: A Survey, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA

1994 Ann Robinson at Masterworks, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland

Galerie L, Hamburg, Germany

From Fantasy to Function V, Kurts Bingham Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

1993 Ann Robinson, Grand opening of Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA

1992 Masterworks Gallery, Parnell, Auckland

1984 Artisan Centre, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015 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

2014 Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin

RE-VISION, Trish Clark Gallery, Auckland

Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown

2013 The Review, milford galleries queenstown

2012 Chosen, milford galleries queenstown

2011 Traverse, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2010 Bloom, milford galleries queenstown

2009 Luminaries, Sabia Gallery, Sydney, Australia

Looking Glass, Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui

Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown

2007 Smart works: Design and the Handmade, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

2006 111, with Elizabeth McClure and Emily Siddell, FHE Galleries, Auckland

Contemporary Glass, Group Show, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland

2005 Garden Varieties, with Bronwyn Cornish and Fran Allison, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland

Axia Modern Art, Sydney, Australia

2003-04

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.

2003 Is As, Landscape as a Metaphor, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2002 Glass Invitational, Touring exhibition, Milford Galleries Dunedin

2001

Transparent Things, National Gallery of Australia in partnership with the Wagga Wagga

Regional Art Gallery, Australia

2000 Creativity and Collaboration, Pilchuck Glass School's 30 Years, Bumbershoot 2000 Seattle Centre, Seattle, Washington, USA

1999 New Zealand Glass, Axia Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia

1997 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)

1996 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

1995 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

1994 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

1993 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

1992 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

1991 The Executive Suite, Crafts Council Gallery, Wellington

New Zealand Glass Review, Compendium Gallery, Auckland

1990 New Zealand Crafts Council, Wellington

1989-91

Australian Kilnformed Glass, touring the USA; Kurland/Summers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Heller Gallery, New York; Habatat Gallery, Detroit, USA

1988 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

1987 Winstone Biennale, Auckland Museum, Auckland

1986 Phillips Glass Exhibition, Auckland Museum, Auckland

Sunbeam Glassworks, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, Wellington

1983 Glass ‘83, touring New Zealand

1982 Fragile Art, Northern Regional Crafts Council, touring New Zealand

1981 Glass ‘81, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland

HONORS, AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, COMMISSIONS, APPOINTMENTS

2009 Installed commissioned Font, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland

2006 Life Time Achievement Award by the Glass Arts Society of America

2006 Waitakere City Arts Laureate Award

2004 2004 Arts Laureate Awarded by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand

2003 Guest speaker Northlands Glass Conference of CGA

2002 Elected recipient of the D.I.N.Z. 'John Britten Award' for contribution to Design

2001 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

2000 Faculty; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, USA

1996 Faculty; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, USA

1991 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, 91Equipment 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 Wood, D, Ann Robinson: Casting Mistress, Neues Glas, Spring 2010 (1/10),pp 32 - 39

2008 Chappell, Dan, Defining Light and Space, Art News, Spring, pp 57-58 (attached)

2003 Simpson Peter (FOA ENG), An Act of Love, Art New Zealand

2001 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