Artist Showcase | Brian Robinson
Clan groups: Maluyligal and Wuthathi (Torres Strait), Dayak (Malaysia)
Language group: Kal Lagaw Ya
Brian Robinson was born in 1973 in Waiben (Thursday Island), in the Torres Strait. He lives and works in Cairns, Queensland.
Brian is an established artist who is nationally and internationally recognised for his printmaking and public sculptures which draw on mythology and popular culture across different cultures. In his works, objects and themes from Torres Strait Islander myths are juxtaposed against well-known mainstream narratives and legends such as Noah’s Ark and the great floods, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Adam and Eve.
Brian has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas since the mid-1990s. His work is represented in many national and international public and private collections, and he has undertaken numerous national and international residencies and public art commissions.
He is represented by Onespace Gallery, Brisbane.
Solo Exhibition | Highlighted Works
Brian Robinson: Pacific crosscurrents
9 Jul – 7 Sep 2016
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Brian Robinson, Land Sea Sky - charting our place in the universe, 2006, linocut, ed. 1/10, mounted on canvas, Donated through the Cairns Regional Gallery Foundation with the assistance of Leigh Heidenreich and Peters Bosel Lawyers, 2016
Brian Robinson, A curious bunch of bits and bobs - Oceanic artefacts at the Australian Museum, 2016, etching, Purchased by Cairns Regional Gallery, 2016
Brian Robinson, Usal - the seven sisters that play amongst the stars, 2016, linocut printed on paper and mounted to board, pine dowel, rattan, shells, raffia, twine, feathers, plastic beads, plastic skull, Donated through the Cairns Regional Gallery Foundation with the assistance of Rosemary Goodsall, 2016
Group Exhibitions | Highlighted Works
ARTNOW FNQ 2022
17 Dec 2022 – 12 Feb 2023
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Brian Robinson and Tamika Grant-Iramu, Carving Country 2019-21, vinyl-cut on Arches BFK Rives 300gsm and Hahnemühle Hellweiss 350 alpha-cotton gsm paper mounted on aluminium, installation comprising of 37 pieces - approx. 280 x 670cm, Courtesy of the artists, Onespace Gallery and Mossenson Galleries
FACELESS Transforming Identity: Blak/Black Artists from North Australia, Africa and the African Diaspora
25 Jun – 2 Oct 2022
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Brian Robinson, Ancestral lineage: The power to morph into animals 2022, palight plastic, enamel spray paint, raffia, cowrie shells, cassowary feathers, toys, shark tooth, beads, Courtesy of the artist, Mossenson Galleries and OneSpace Gallery
Out of Queensland:
New Indigenous Textiles
6 Dec 2019 – 19 Feb 2020
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Brian Robinson, ... the blooms continue to flourish, 2015, custom-printed linen, Commissioned by Cairns Regional Gallery, 2015
ARTNOW FNQ 2019
13 Dec 2019 – 2 Feb 2020
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Brian Robinson, Pada Kuyk: Power beyond the grave, 2019, Palight plastic, enamel spray paint, polyvinyl chloride, Purchased Cairns Art Gallery Foundation, 2020
Malu Minar: Art of the Torres Strait
2 Apr – 22 May 2011
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Brian Robinson, Tagai - Guardian of the heavens, 2007, linocut, Gift of Robina Cosser, 2007
Ilan Pasin: This is our way
6 Nov 1998 – 31 Jan 1999
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Brian Robinson, Ilan Coke, 1995, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center
Brian Robinson, Woven fish, 1997, linocut, Collection of the artist
Brian Robinson, As the Sea Gods Awaken, 1998, plywood, wood, woven mat, dowel, acrylic paint & permanent marker, Cairns Art Gallery Collection
Collection Works
Resources | Publications