BIOGRAPHY
Kenneth Roger Robinson
Born Auckland 24 November 1940, Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Died Auckland 27 January 2021 Aotearoa / New Zealand
Studied at Auckland Grammar School.
Travelled to London and was accepted for full time study in painting at Saint Martin’s School of Art, where he received stimulation from such lecturers as Anthony Caro, Phillip King, Frank Auerbach, John Latham, Eduardo Paolozzi, Bernard Cohen, Elizabeth Frink, and Leon Kossoff. After completing a National Diploma of Fine Art he was selected and completed postgraduate study. During his study at Saint Martin’s, he won the third year painting prize. In 1967 he was appointed Lecturer in painting and design at Middlesbrough College of Art for two years, exhibited widely, and was represented in the 1966 Eight NZ Artists show in New Zealand House London, as well as a selected show of New Zealand artists in London at Qantas Gallery. He traveled extensively through Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and Eastern Europe before immigrating to Canada.
In Canada he addressed workshops at Sir George William University and worked as a graphic designer and display artist. He then traveled extensively by car around the United States spending some time in Mexico before returning to New Zealand in 1971.
Robinson was appointed Lecturer at the Auckland Institute of Technology (now AUT) in 1971. He retired as a Senior Lecturer, after working almost four decades at the university. His work has been exhibited widely throughout NZ in one man shows, within group exhibitions, and is included in private collections. He has exhibited internationally in Sweden, Italy, Canada, Venice, London, New York, United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere. He has returned many times to the UK, and travelled to South Africa, Israel, Greece, Italy, Japan, South America, China, and South East Asia. Robinson was also involved in the New Zealand Society of Sculptors, Painters and Associates, being elected President in 1988 for a term.
This exposure to multiple countries and cultures has been a great influence on his work, which as it draws from many sources, has a universal quality. The work does not have an overtly New Zealand flavour, yet Robinson says though the work doesn't contain local cultural symbols it has a New Zealand-ness about it, distinct from Australian, British or European art.
The optimism of the sixties offered Robinson all the encouragement to explore art rather than just painting pictures, or merely being self-expressive, which he feels can be a hindrance to a good understanding of the nature of art.
This exploration over the years is manifest in a range of very inventive paintings. Exploring sculptural, spatial, and painterly concerns, combined with his use of multi printmaking techniques (which he views as works in themselves), have all been inspiration for the painting.
Looking at Robinson's work over the years, one can see cases where he seems to have isolated certain aspects within a painting to explore over a period of time, that later on changed direction in a way that could be seen as the total opposite. Later on he produced paintings that combine these two different poles into his work, unifying those conflicting aspects and emotions within the work, dynamically forming a satisfactory sense of order.
The basic structure of his work is intellectual, but the paintings have a unique balance of intuition and intellect that stops them from being too predictable. Even in the earlier 'Drop series' work, that on the surface seems preplanned, they are in fact a result of intuitive decisions made as the work developed. In effect, he addressed the issue: can merely the sum of form, colour and design give the work an integrity of its own and provide value and relevance for the viewer?
For Robinson, communication implies that one has something to say and wants to communicate that understanding to others but he does not use this in his work. He grapples with the problem of making abstract work that is more than simply decorative and yet does not have an explicit metaphorical quality. He uses the word communion, which demands the full participation of the viewer and total commitment from the artist. A product of inner intensity, the work makes no attempt to woo the fashion conscious. For him radicalism usually means just being Avant-Guard, which in fact is only an attitude representing the status quo. He gives each work a personality that is much more than its basic qualities of shape and colour. Robinson's command of the variety of techniques is emphasized by the combination of printing and collage within the painting. The wit and experience of the artist shows in the way he takes a single form and energizes it in ways both elaborate and simple through a variety of media.
By exposing the accepted practices of art, Robinson finds it necessary to take a step back and look just at what art means to the artist, and to the viewer. His working process is to construct and corrupt, removing the work (and himself) from any literary art historical context. Although the work might be about time passing he doesn't want to be trapped by any time frame.
Ken Robinson is not just an expressive painter, he is in fact a dedicated analyst of form, moving beyond action and immediate expression. Control, intellect, and emotive energy remain the primary ingredients in his art.
“I want that sense of order or controlled effect of all the individual marks and their relationships with other marks and shapes. It is the sensual reading of those marks and the overall effect that interest me. I participate in the creative process simply to understand something about myself and the world around me.
So exploring the way we see things we can discover something about ourselves.”
Ken passed away in January 2021 in his 81st year, after 60 years of dedicated and prolific work as an abstract artist and an art educator.
EXHIBITIONS
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1964 - Group show, St. Martins Gallery, London.
1965 - N.Z. Artists selected show, Qantas Gallery, London.
1966 - Eight N.Z. Artists, N. Z. House, London.
1967 - Group Show, Municipal Gallery, Middlesbrough.
1968 - Selected in open show, Esten Gallery, Yorkshire.
1970 - One Man Show, Society of Arts, Auckland.
1971 - Invitation to exhibit in selected show, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland.
1972 - Selected in Benson & Hedges Art Exhibition to tour N.Z.
1975 - One Man Show, Auckland Building Society, Auckland.
1977 - Group show by N.Z. Society of Sculptors and Painters, Hastings City Art Gallery.
1978 - Invited to Exhibit in "20 Auckland Artists" Auckland City Art Gallery.
1978 - Group Show N.Z. Society of Sculptors and Painters, C.S.A., Gallery, Christchurch.
1980 - Selected in the Bensons & Hedges Art Exhibition to tour N.Z.
1981 - Selected for the Tokoroa Art Award Exhibition.
1981 - Works on Paper N.Z.S.S.P.A. exhibition A.S.A. Gallery, Auckland.
1982 - Selected in Wanganui Art Exhibition, Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui.
1982 - One Man show, Petar/James Gallery, Auckland.
1982 - N.Z.S.S..P.A. ‘Two Decades Exhibition’, R.K.S. Gallery. Auckland.
1982 - One Man show , Studio Gallery, Hamilton.
1984 - Group show, Backroom Gallery, Dunedin.
1984 - Selected in Wanganui Art Award Exhibition, Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui.
1984 - Group Show, Petar/James Gallery. Auckland.
1984 - Works in progress N.Z.S.S.P. A, R.K.S. Gallery, Auckland.
1984 - One Man Show of prints, Selected by A.N.S.A.S. to tour N.Z.
1985 - One Man Show, Petar/James Gallery. Auckland.
1985 - Selected in Team McMillan Ford Exhibition, A.S.A. Gallery, Auckland.
1986 - Group Show, Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington.
1986 - One Man Show, Petar/James Gallery, Auckland.
1986 - Finalist Tokoroa Art award Exhibition, Tokoroa.
1986 - Selected in the International Exhibition Of Miniature Art, Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
1987 - Selected in Team McMillan Ford Exhibition, A.S.A. Gallery, Auckland.
1987 - Invited to exhibit N. Z. Blood Foundation Exhibition, A.S.A. Gallery, Auckland.
1987 - One Man Show, Petar/James Gallery, Auckland.
1988 - Selected in Goodman Suter Biennale, Suter Gallery, Nelson.
1988 - One Man Show , C. S. A. Gallery Christchurch.
1989 - One Man Show C. S. A. Gallery Christchurch.
1989 - Painting and music collaboration ‘Five Responses’ with composer Eve de Castro-Robinson, School of Music Theatre. Auckland.
1990 - Selected in Goodman Suter Biennale, Suter Gallery, Nelson.
1990 - Group Show of work by tutors at the A.I.T. Mickey Finns, Auckland.
1990 - One Man Show, Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington.
1991 - One Man Show R. K. S. Gallery Auckland.
1992 - Group show of tutors work of A.I.T. Stanley St. Art Centre, Parnell, Auckland.
1992 - Winner of Birkenhead Licensing Trust Art Award. Auckland. Selected by Warwick Brown.
1993 - Group Show Morgan St. Gallery. Parnell. Auckland.
1993 - One Man Retrospective Show C.S.A. Gallery. Christchurch.
1993 - One Man Show Hawke's Bay Museum. Napier.
1993 - Asked to exhibit in the Foyer of the A.S.B. bank, Auckland
1994 - Selected in the First International Exhibition of Miniature Art, selected by an International jury, Stockholm, Sweden.
1994 - One Man Show R.K.S. Gallery. Auckland.
1994 - Invited to exhibit in a Group Show Monserrat Gallery. New York. U.S.A.
1994 - Group Show by Tutors at the A.I.T. Morgan St. Gallery, Auckland.
1994 - Invited to exhibit in the 'Fax about Art ' show at the C.S.A. Gallery Christchurch.
1995 - Group Show by tutors at the A.I.T. Morgan St. Gallery, Newmarket, Auckland.
1995 - One man show, Warwick Brown Gallery. Auckland.
1996 - Invited to exhibit in a group show of prints at the Pump House. Auckland.
1996 - One man show of drawings and paintings at the Drawing Gallery, Ponsonby Rd, Auckland.
1996 - Group show by Tutors at the A,I,T, Morgan St. Gallery , Newmarket, Auckland.
1996 - Invited to exhibit in 'Art Sale 96' Titirangi. Auckland
1998 - One man show of prints ,working drawings and collages. Portfolio Gallery Auckland.
1998 - One man show of paintings and drawings Warwick Brown Gallery. Auckland.
1998 - Invited to exhibit in “The Autumn Annual Exhibition in Venice, Italy.”
1998 - Invited to take part in the Starship Children’s Hospital Art Auction, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Auckland.
1999 - Group show Portfolio Gallery Auckland.
1999 - Invited as guest artist at Te Wa – The Space, Wanganui. Supported by the Wanganui trust.
1999 - Invited to exhibit in “100 ´100 ´100 Exhibition”, McPherson Gallery, Auckland.
1999 - Invited in group show, Portfolio Gallery, Auckland.
1999 - Invited to Exhibit In Chiaroscuro’s Summer Exhibition, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Auckland.
1999 - Included in ‘Winners Exhibition’ of Winners of the Birkenhead Licensing Trust Art Awards, Westshore Arts Centre, Auckland.
2000 - Selected in “2nd Autumn Exhibition, Venice, Italy
2000 - Auckland University of Technology, School of Art and Design Exhibition, Hua Shan Art Campus, Shanghai, China.
2000 - Included in Internet Art Show, Art Addiction, Stockholm, Sweden
2001 - Invited to exhibit in Chiaroscuro Summer Hanging, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Auckland
2001 - Invited to exhibit in the 5th Sharjah International Arts Biennial. Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
2001 - One man show of paintings and prints on the internet organised by Art Addiction Stockholm, Sweden.
2001 - "Abstract Painting" Te Wa/The Space Gallery, Wanganui.
2001 - Retrospective Exhibition of Artists, 1980-2001, Portfolio Gallery, Auckland.
2001 - Group Show to celebrate the new gallery, Portfolio Gallery, Auckland.
2002 - Selected in the first "International College Show", Art Addiction, Sweden.
2002 - "Summer Hanging", Grantham Gallery, Auckland.
2002 - "Art Work Show", Charity Art Exhibition, Hilton Hotel, Auckland.
2003 - "Second Art Work" Show, Charity Exhibition, Hilton Hotel, Auckland.
2003 - Invited to exhibit in the 6th Art Biennial, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
2004 -"3rd Art Work Show", Hilton Hotel, Auckland.