Sally Robinson studied at the National Art School in Sydney from 1970-1973 and was awarded a Diploma in Art (Painting). In the following year she took up a position as a designer at the Australian Museum. The ten years spent at the Museum were significant, exposing her and educating about the variety and beauty of Australian landforms, flora and fauna. This resulted in a long commitment to landscape and natural subjects in her silk screenprint editions.
Robinson was one of the leading Australian printmakers of the 1970s and 1980s. Her image based screenprints, featuring layers of bold, bright colour, were purchased by public collections around Australia and she received many commissions for print series. The subjects were quintessentially Australian.
When queried about her artistic technique she acknowledged that she was influenced by the pointilism of Seurat and the pop art of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Attending this 50th Anniversary of her work at the S.H.Ervin Gallery she admitted that she had to give up her silkscreen printing, as it became over the years too arduous.
As stencilling was a large part of her technical repertoire to bring up strong layers , colours and textures, she adapted those techniques with the application of paint on canvas and in particular two portraits. In 1999 Robinson made her first appearance in the Archibald Prize. I 2012 she won the Portia Geach Memorial Award, and again in 2019 with a self portrait.
Robinson won the Gallipoli Memorial Art Prize in 2015 with a poignant landscape and the Shirley Hannan Portrait Prize with a painting of Ella Rubeli.
With her inquisitiveness as to the possibilities of new artistic techniques she has entered in to the world of abstract art.
The exhibition ran at the S.H.Ervin Gallery from the 20th April to the 2nd June 2024.
Featured image Coogee Beach 1973. Text and photos by Ben Apfelbaum
