Artist: Philip A. Robinson
Medium: walnut, yellow maple, red heart, purple heart, mirror, finish stainless steel, basswood frame
Dimensions: 45 1/4 x 25 3/4 x 3 in / 115 x 65 x 7 cm
Robinson is a multi-media sculptor and conceptual artist who lives in Oregon. His work has been shaped by influences from a Cherokee and African American mother and a Trinidadian and British father against the backdrop of the 1980s neo-conceptual art and installation practices and a climate of laissez-faire capitalism and technological advances. Robinson uses wood to symbolize natural cycles of time and geography to amplify the narrative of identity within popular and marginalized cultures, and mirrors in the sculptures to allow the viewer to see and identify themselves in the concept of the composition. Robinson’s ongoing exploration of identity raises questions: Who controls culture? How does history shape the importance of culture? How does historic culture become appropriated into popular culture? How is culture sustained and influenced by ‘others’? How does the relationship between hegemonic and marginalized cultures influence value?
Learn more about the artist here.