Gallery

Since Spring 2020 time has truncated. Then, we were living in limbo, waiting: senses stretched to breaking point, acutely aware of the boundaries between inside and outside. Birdsong became a cacophonous element of the new silence. The dropping notes encapsulated freedom. The idea of John Cage’s work 4’33 where the ‘music’ was the ‘silence’ of the concert hall seemed deeply relevant. Alongside ‘drawing’ birdsong I made joyous responses to Chopin’s Walzes, and revisited the mellifluous economy and intimacy of Gregorian Chant. My memory of the notation of Plainsong – dots scattered across four lines – seemed a logical progression of my use of the marks and piercings of Pianola rolls.

Fiona Robinson's work is held in major collections including the British Museum London, the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, the Royal West of England Academy Bristol, the University of Bath, the Polish Art Foundation Melbourne Australia and the Ballinglen Museum of Contemporary Art Co. Mayo Rep. of Ireland.   Awards include the Royal West of England Academy Drawing Prize 2011, the University of Bath Painting Prize 2007 and the 4th International Biennale of Drawing in Melbourne, Australia, Prizewinner 2007. She has been shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize, the Derwent Drawing Prize and the Cheltenham Drawing Prize.

Fiona was elected President of the Royal West of England Academy in 2019 and holds Honorary memberships of the Royal Academy of Art, London,  The Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.