Philip Robinson Jr. ’05
Trees hold stories in the scars they bear on their bark. Multimedia sculptor and conceptual artist Philip A. Robinson Jr. ’05 realized this when he traveled with artist Abigail Deville as her brand manager in 2014. She was collecting artifacts in towns from Washington, D.C., to Florida for an art installation.
In Savannah, Florida, they went on a slavery tour, where they saw unmarked graves
and markings on the pews to let runaways know they were in a safe place.
“What stood out for me were the trees. Slaves were tied to the trees and whipped,” Robinson says. “You can still see those whipping marks on the bark. The trees tell a story — they remember.”
Wood has since become Robinson’s signature art medium for deeper conversations about history, culture, identity, and marginalization against the backdrop of 1980s neo-conceptual art. His artwork, with influences from his Cherokee and African American mother and Trinidadian and British father, is on exhibit at the Portland International Airport through September.
Robinson creates from wood life-size figures affixed to mirror-finish stainless steel. In choosing wood, he uses tree-ring dating techniques and looks for structural beauty and imperfections that strengthen the meaning of his work.
“The dating of the wood is critical because it tells the story of our history,” says Robinson, who sources his wood in upstate New York and the Pacific Northwest. “I cannot force a piece of wood to be something it's not, so I always have a ton of wood available to ensure I can find the perfect piece for a particular sculpture.”
Robinson, who majored in art at Skidmore, earned his graduate degree at Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey. In addition to exhibiting his artwork around the country and overseas, he teaches fine arts and ceramics at Catlin Gabel, an independent school in Portland, Oregon.
At Skidmore, the ceramic and sculpting studios stood out the most for Robinson. He also has fond memories of when he first used sheet metal in sculpting, including the three sculptures in his senior exhibition made from cold roll 18-gauge sheet metal locally sourced in Saratoga Springs.
“I loved using the plasma cutter,” he reminisces. “I think I personally put a dent in our studio budget with all the plasma tips I ruined.”
