Details:
① Artwork:
Aqueduct (After Rube Goldberg)
This painting is modeled after a Rube Goldberg machine—a contraption designed to instigate an absurdly convoluted chain reaction for the sole purpose of completing a simple task in the most roundabout way. In this work, water falling from the sky must pass through a variety of obstacles before it reaches the watering can and, ultimately, the wildflowers. Cheesecloth is used to build up the surface texture of the composition, giving the water a fluid and transparent quality.
Robinson’s paintings turn foundational power structures on their head through the use of humor, absurdity and irony. The artist's compositions undermine prevailing ideas about anthropocentrism, or the belief that human beings are the center of the universe—an idea proliferated by Western painting and especially works in the art historical canon. Robinson's paintings frequently depict forest-like settings where human-made structures such as towers are fantastically constructed out of women, animals and inanimate objects. At times, the compositions resemble the characters in "Town Musicians of Bremen"—a popular German fairy tale in which aging domestic animals run away from their overbearing masters.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Johanna Robinson’s paintings employ humor, absurdity and irony to undermine anthropocentrism—or the belief that human beings are the center of the universe—an idea proliferated by the Western art canon. The artist’s work, connected to a long lineage of women surrealist and symbolist painters, relies on imagination as a source for truth-seeking and world-building. Robinson’s compositions turn foundational power structures on their head, frequently depicting forest-like settings with constructions built of women, animals and inanimate objects.
BIO:
Johanna Robinson was born in New York. The artist received an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia (2018) and a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts (2007). Robinson spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon; much of the surrounding wilderness in the area became the backdrop for her work.
Exhibitions of Robinson’s work include: AmphorasamorphA, curated by Sally Beauty at Flux Factory on Governor's Island, New York; Welcome at Tomato Mouse in Brooklyn, New York; The Symbolists: Les Fleurs du mal, curated by Nicole Kaack at Hesse Flatow in New York City; In Gratitude at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon; New American Paintings Pacific Coast Review at Zevitas Marcus in Los Angeles, California; Zeit-Geist-Zeit at Gaa Gallery in Wellfleet, Massachusetts; Wildernesses at Peninsula Art Space in Brooklyn, New York; Phone Home, curated by Wendy Vogel at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York City; Surreality at Crush Curatorial in New York City; Emerge at Page Bond Gallery in Richmond, Virginia; and Not One But The Other at Art Bermondsey Project Space in London, UK.
Robinson has been awarded artist residencies at: Leland Iron Works at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon; the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont; and MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. The artist’s work has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Sammy’s World and New American Paintings.
Robinson lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
In this work, water falling from the sky must pass through a variety of obstacles before it reaches the watering can and, ultimately, the wildflowers. This painting is modeled after contraptions designed to complete a simple task in the most roundabout way.More
- Unframed
- Signed
