Robin Mitchell
Eduardo Carrillo Prize in Painting 2007 Nominee
View Paintings by Robin Mitchell
Artist Statement
My artwork is involved with the act of mark making and how the mark in its abstract nature is able to communicate an image and transcend beyond to suggest themes both tangible and intangible. Over the years my artwork has evolved from formal concerns to embrace a more spiritual imagery alluding to aspects of nature, both of the natural world and of human nature. In many of my paintings there is a strong central imagery that is reflective of my identity, both physically and psychologically. In earlier work there was often a vertical column of bead-like forms, alluding to the spine, a symbol of both my inner strength and biological structure. In more recent paintings this spine-like column has evolved to take on the characteristics of a tree, or plant and flower forms. Symmetry is an essential aspect of these images.
I work in a variety of medium including paintings on canvas, drawings and paintings on paper, prints, and sculpture. The size of the artwork ranges from the intimacy of very small works on paper to large paintings on canvas. I am interested in exploring how a range of mediums can bring nuance to the themes of my work. More recently, I have concentrated on works on paper. The intimacy and directness of these works provide me with an introspective quality. I am in the midst of a body of work that is obsessive, detailed, and very hand involved. At first look, it seems very different from earlier artwork. These paintings a close-up, or almost microscopic investigation of themes that I have been exploring in my work for a long time, - symmetry, mark-making, gesture, and a kind of organic growth of thought and image. It is almost as if I have moved inside the visual arena of each painting.
View Paintings by Robin Mitchell