Abby Robinson
Tilton Gallery, New York
April 23 - June 28, 2024
Tilton Gallery presents an exhibition of new paintings and sculptures by ABBY ROBINSON. This is her first solo exhibition and follows her presentation at the Independent New York 2023.
Abby Robinson creates new forms of abstraction in an inventive practice that spans painting, sculpture, and installation. Her works explore formal questions of color, scale, and space. She uses both traditional and unexpected materials applied with deliberate and intuitive methods to create new compositions and surfaces. These varied abstractions open up fresh spaces for contemplation, enjoyment, and exploration.
Paint is applied in brushstrokes and washes, elements are collaged on, surfaces are built up and sanded down. Washes of bright and natural color spread across canvas and wood. Lines run throughout, playful and deliberate, drawn with a rainbow crayon or dug into wood with a Dremel. Lines zigzag, squiggle, loop, backtrack, and almost meander; yet they have purpose. Patterns start to appear, often grids, but on the verge of collapse. An order is visible but subverted. A certain shape might appear in a painting then reappear elsewhere as a sculpture. An object might be added and subtracted, leaving a mark and impression.
A varied body of abstract works emerges through this use of disparate materials and methods. Yet the works all share the same attitude and intensity. A near monochrome is alive and at ease next to a panel filled with frenetic lines. Each is invested with the same attention and consideration. Some are minimal, achieved with a seemingly light touch. Thin washes of paint are applied quickly, demanding athleticism and an embrace of chance. Others are clearly layered and worked over. Deeper surfaces are sanded down in specific spots to reveal earlier layers of paint and material. All are created with an economy of moves. Quick, decisive moments are countered with slower ones.
Alongside paintings, patches of painted plaster “Forms” appear. Most hang on the wall, some sit on pedestals or tables, some can do both. Each can stand alone, yet they often come together in intuitive arrangements. Each “Form,” as the artist calls them, is unique. Plaster is poured and molded into similar yet singular shapes with jagged or smooth edges. The plaster is then painted, sometimes carved into, drawn onto, or speckled with stones. The surfaces range from flat and smooth to rough and rocky. Uneven plaster can feel like a familiar expanse of earth or possibly from another planet. Like paintings, they offer space for contemplation. Their direct color and three-dimensionality deepen this experience.
ABBY ROBINSON was born in 1984 in New Orleans, LA and received her Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University School of the Arts in 2022. In 2023, Tilton Gallery exhibited a solo presentation of new works at the Independent Art Fair in New York. Abby Robinson has participated in group exhibitions at half gallery, New York and Golsa Gallery, Oslo, Norway. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings and Architectural Digest. This summer, Robinson will be a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. She lives and works in New York.
TILTON GALLERY
8 East 76 Street, New York, NY 10021