Exhibition

John Robinson 'CNUT'

13 Nov 2021 – 15 Jan 2022

Regular hours

Saturday
10:00 – 17:00
Tuesday
10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday
10:00 – 17:00
Thursday
10:00 – 17:00
Friday
10:00 – 17:00

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Anima Mundi

St Ives, United Kingdom

Event map

Ani­ma Mun­di are delight­ed to present British artist John Robinson’s extra­or­di­nary solo exhi­bi­tion of paint­ings, ​‘CNUT’

About

John Robinson 'CNUT'  |  13/11 - 15/01/22

“When he was at the height of his ascendancy, he ordered his chair to be placed on the sea-shore as the tide was coming in. Then he said to the rising tide, “You are subject to me, as the land on which I am sitting is mine, and no one has resisted my overlordship with impunity. I command you, therefore, not to rise on to my land, nor to presume to wet the clothing or limbs of your master.” But the sea came up as usual, and disrespectfully drenched the king’s feet and shins. So jumping back, the king cried, “Let all the world know that the power of kings is empty and worthless, and there is no king worthy of the name save Him by whose will heaven, earth and the sea obey eternal laws.”

Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, ‘Historia Anglorum (History of the English People)’, (c. 1154)

Anima Mundi are delighted to present ‘CNUT’, an extraordinary solo exhibition by John Robinson.

John Robinson’s figurative yet often absurd works offer a contemporary subversion of the rich tradition of self portraiture. For the artist, these paintings embrace personal concern, disclosure and catharsis, whilst for the voyeur the experience appears both elaborately grandiose and awkwardly revealing.

Robinson’s process often involves private performance, seasoned with personal, cultural and socio-political symbolism, from which a still is taken from the video of these actions. These are then developed into oil paint on canvas. The final process imbues the subject with an intangible emotive quality that only the gesture of painting can imply.

ABOUT JOHN ROBINSON

John Robinson was born in Worcester, UK in 1981 where he still resides. He studied Fine Art at Falmouth College of Arts (awarded First class honours) spending most of the time whilst there skipping tutorials to travel to Plymouth to be taught by the notorious and idiosyncratic painter Robert Lenkiewicz, who ignited an interest in how to evoke colour through grey alongside wider interest in occult literature and artwork experienced in Lenkiewicz’s famed private library. Robinson was awarded the Richard Ford Scholarship by the Royal Academy of Arts and spent a summer as artist in residence at the Prado Museum Madrid absorbing the works of Velazquez and Goya alongside the city’s nightlife. He stayed in Madrid for a further decade broken by a year at Central Saint Martins on a Masters degree in fine art. In London he developed his use of ‘the painting’ as a disguise; ‘self portrait as (other...)’. Robinson has exhibited internationally. He has won the Peter Spicer Award for Excellence in Creative Arts (First Place), Richard Ford Award for Painting, Royal Academy, London (First Place), South Square Trust Scholarship for MA study at Byam Shaw school of Art, Central Saint Martins, London, Alfa Romeo Award Art (‘Best of show nominee’) Madrid, Spain, Premio de Pintura Focus-Abengoa, Seville, Spain (Winner) and the Hauser and Wirth Prize, Hauser and Wirth Somerset UK, (First Prize). Works are held in notable collections including University of the Arts London permanent collection, London, UK, Nicolas & Maxinne Leslau collection, London, UK, Focus-Abengoa Foundation, Seville, Spain, Coldwell Banker, Madrid, Spain, Falmouth College of Arts Library, Falmouth UK, Museo del Ferrocarril, Madrid, Spain, Stedlijk Museum Amsterdam Netherlands, Wellcome Collection London UK, British Council Collection UK.

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Joseph Clarke

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John M Robinson

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