MICHAEL ROBINSON

Michael Robinson's etchings and poetry evoke the Great Spirit. He leads us through the dimensions of daily life to teach us about the power and hope that are accessible to us all.
Erla Boyer, Gallery Indigena

Born in Timmins (ON), artist Michael Robinson (1948-2010) practiced glassblowing, printmaking, illustration, and poetry. A graduate of the Sheridan College (Toronto, ON) in the school of Design (Glass Major), Michael Robinson developed imagery drawn from legends and teachings from his heritage. His work explores themes of universal concern: environment, relationships, and spirituality. He is part of prestigious collections such as the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, QC), Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, ON) and the Canada Council Art Bank. His poems have been published in Freedom of Silence (1988) and A Bird Within A Ring of Fire (1998).

Artist’s Statement
I strongly believe that Indian people are the only people who see the earth (mother) as a gift, who were able to see her natural cycles and laws and wanted to live within these laws as one of all things, instead of the centre. My Native heritage allows me to feel myself part of this very old relationship.

I hope my work will open people’s eyes to the destruction and killing that goes on everyday around us – the killing of the earth. If they cannot see directly, perhaps they can understand it through our own people’s burden of trying to adjust from a very earth related society into a technological society that has created itself as the centre.

I would like to leave people with the thought that life promises no guarantees, no favours. It does not promise to be equal or fair. We must always remember that we are tenants here, not the landlords.”

Selected Exhibitions
1970 - Present Gallery Indigena, Stratford, Ontario
And Gallery Indigena, Vancouver, B.C.
1998 McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Gallery Indigena, Stratford, Ontario
Spirit of the Sun, Arizona, USA
1996 Madawaska Art Gallery, Maynooth, Ontario
Canada House, Banff, Alberta
1995 Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, Quebec
1993 Karlyn's Gallery, Wisconsin, USA
Galeries Sedunoises, Sion, Switzerland
Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Ontario
Gallery Philip, Toronto, Ontario
1992 Bancroft Art Gallery, Bancroft, Ontario
Kasheese Studio, West Bay, Ontario
Chapel Gallery, Bracebridge, Ontario
1991 Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, West Bay, Ontario
1990 American Indian Archeological Institute, Washington, USA
Hudson Museum, Maine, USA
Holoyoke Museum, Massachusetts, USA
North Bay Arts Centre, North Bay, Ontario
McMichael Gallery, Kleinburg, Ontario

Awards
1996 Canada Council Project Grant
1992 Ontario Arts Council, Project Grant
1993 Native Artist in the School, Ontario Arts Council
1990 Ontario Arts Council, Project Grant
1989 Award for Excellence, Canadian Guild of Crafts, Quebec
1986 Ontario Arts Council, Writers Grant
1985 Canada Council, Explorations Grant

Collections
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Ontario
Glenbow Art Institute, Calgary, Alberta
McMichael Gallery, Kleinburg, Ontario
Museum of Anthropology, Denver, Colorado
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Books
Freedom of Silence, 1988
The Earth and the Dancing Man, 1991
Touching the Serpent's Tail, 1992
A Bird Within A Ring of Fire, 1998