Richard Roblin: A Wondrous Journey — Archive Contemporary

Richard Roblin, A Wondrous Journey

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Archive Contemporary is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Richard Roblin’s work. “Richard Roblin: A Wondrous Journey” is on view from May to August of 2020, featuring a selection of the major Canadian artist’s abstract paintings from across multiple series. A micro-retrospective of sorts, this exhibition highlights works oscillating between stillness and exuberance: bold, stirring pieces that embody the awakening essence of Spring.

Roblin spent his early years under the luminous skies of Saskatchewan, where the wide prairies served as his first sources of inspiration and an expansive horizon illuminated his consciousness. The visual palette of the natural world continued to serve as an undercurrent throughout his career, and continues to inspire him on Vancouver Island where he currently resides.

An internationally acclaimed painter, Richard Roblin’s work features extensively in private and corporate collections the world over. His work has been exhibited in galleries, museums and fairs such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal Museum of Contemporary Arts, Bermuda National Gallery and numerous international art fairs.

The brilliance of Richard Roblin is how he ignites a creative chemistry between artist and viewer, a primorial communication based on the silent language of colour, texture and form. His dynamic and boundless compositions act as mirrors. Each viewer interacts with the work differently and sees reflected what they bring to it. Despite stylistic variations across series, his work is often characterized by structured overlays of colour punctuated by delicate traces and markings that carve their way across the canvas.

The dialogue between inner and outer topographies is perhaps the most prominent theme weaving through Roblin’s extensive canon. To stand in the presence of his works is to participate in the artist’s lifelong spiritual yearning - to embark on a guided journey of reflection and meditation on inner self. Yet most of his works depart from a place of external observation - drawing on compositional exploration informed by the artist’s passion for sculpture, design, and the natural world.

Bringing together works from each of these series, “Richard Roblin: A Wondrous Journey” highlights the magical luminosity and depth of Roblin’s artistic canon. Each of Roblin’s paintings is a portal to the heart, a primary impulse moving to a universal resonance. "I love to paint", Roblin says. "The nature of my painting activities is to engage with the magical resonances of colour and form. I play with the dynamics of luminosity to reveal the sense of joy which inspires it. My process of painting is to begin by drawing with colour, a line or shape. Everything that emerges is defined by that primary impulse which is like the leap of a dancer onto life's stage. Suddenly, the canvas begins to light up. Each canvas is an open door, a dance circle, a symphony of breath breathing its life through the action of the artist. Each artist, an understudy of creation itself, re-enacts the birth of the universe."

"Richard Roblin: A Wondrous Journey" can be viewed at Archive Contemporary Gallery, 2471 Rue Centre in Montreal, from May 9 - August 30 2020. Information: (514)549-8885 or www.archivec.art

Information: (514)549-8885 www.archivec.art

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Left: Richard Roblin Impulse, Oil on Arches paper, 40” x 26” | Right: Richard Roblin Charade, Oil on Canvas, 40” x 26”

Richard Roblin Meadow of the Mind, Acrylic on canvas, 77” x 144”

Left: Richard Roblin Sky Falls Oil on canvas, 80” x 53”, 1994 | Right: Opera Acrylic on canvas, 80” x 54”, 2018