William Robinson
Biography
Born in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough, ON), William Robinson moved to Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, NS), in 1999 to attend NSCAD. He received his B.F.A. (Interdisciplinary) in 2005 and a minor in Art History in 2007.
Robinson’s work is an expanded exploration of song. For him, song lives beyond a sonic formation as a multidisciplinary one. His works combine sound, music, place, performance, sculpture, video, textiles, photography, drawing and poetry. His practice’s leitmotif is an engagement in listening and questioning how sound, or lack thereof, is perceived and produced in relation to site and source.
Robinson was the 2016 Sobey Art Award Atlantic Region Finalist, and in 2017, received the Arts Nova Scotia Established Artist Recognition Award. From 2017 to 2019, he attended Rutgers University in Lenapehoking (New Brunswick, New Jersey), where he received an M.F.A. in Visual Arts and had the privilege to study with esteemed faculty such as Kara Walker, Aki Sasamoto, and Patrick Strzelec.
Upon graduating Rutgers, Robinson returned to Mi’kma’ki, where he has since maintained a studio practice in addition to working as an instructor and technician at NSCAD University, balancing employment and creative mentorship with artistic production through residencie, grants, performances and exhibitions.
Robinson’s significant exhibition history includes a solo exhibition at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery (Pitchpole, 2023); collaborative exhibitions with Lou Sheppard at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery (Cabinet Music (Cantata for Erosion), 2023) and Dalhousie Art Gallery (i want to be a seashell/i want to be a mold/ i want to be a spirit, 2021); and group exhibitions with The Blue Building Gallery (Landscapes and Stories, 2023; Staying, 2022).
Works Available
William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I, 2021. Digital inkjet print in custom frame (Spanish cedar dyed black and lacquered). 105.4 x 158.8 cm. Photograph (Print): Lenny Mullins.
Installation view of William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I, 2021 in "Staying" February 11 — April 23, 2022.
William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I, 2021. Digital inkjet print in custom frame (Spanish cedar dyed black and lacquered). 105.4 x 158.8 cm. Photograph (Print): Lenny Mullins.
Installation view of William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I - Details I, II, III at Plural 2023.
William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I — Detail I, 2021. Digital inkjet print in custom frame (black stained maple). Print: 30.3 x 45.3 cm. Frame: 75.3 x 60.3 cm. Photograph (Print): Lenny Mullins.
William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I — Detail II, 2021. Digital inkjet print in custom frame (black stained maple). Print: 30.3 x 45.3 cm. Frame: 75.3 x 60.3 cm. Photograph (Print): Lenny Mullins.
William Robinson, Mushroom Kit I — Detail III, 2021. Digital inkjet print in custom frame (black stained maple). Print: 30.3 x 45.3 cm. Frame: 75.3 x 60.3 cm. Photograph (Print): Lenny Mullins.
William Robinson, La Mer II, 2023. Graphite on paper. 22.9 x 30.5 cm.
Detail of: William Robinson, La Mer II, 2023. Graphite on paper. 22.9 x 30.5 cm.
Exhibitions
Press
Ray Cronin, “Review: A Sense of Place.” Vie des arts. June 15, 2022.
Maeve Hanna, “STAYING at The Blue Building Gallery.” Visual Arts News. Summer 2022. Print.
Matt Horseman, “Blue Art Group; Matt Horseman Meets Emily Falencki.” EDIT Magazine. Summer 2022. Print.