John Robinson (sculptor)

John Robinson (4 May 1935 – 6 April 2007) was a British sculptor and co-founder of the Bradshaw Foundation. Accounts of his work may be seen at the Robinson estate website, the website of the Centre for the Popularisation of Mathematics and the June and July 2007, issues of Hyperseeing. Among other distinctions, he was the Official Sculptor for the British Olympic Committee in 1988, and a University of Wales Honorary Fellow, 1992.

Robinson first made a name for himself with representational pieces. His figurative bronzes ranged in scope and scale from life-size commissioned sculptures of children to athletic sculptures, and included a commissioned bust ofQueen Elizabeth and another of the Queen Mother. His representational sports figure Acrobats (1980, 5 metres) was first mounted at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Maui, Hawaii. There are another 7 examples around the world, one of which is located outside the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, Australia. Another of his athletic sculptures, Hammer Thrower, may be seen outside the Bowring Building in Tower Hill, London, at the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, Alabama, and in Melbourne, Australia. Robinson was Official Sculptor for the British Olympic Committee in 1988. His Gymnast is at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, donated by the Australian Olympic Committee.

In 1975, after listening to a Mozart violin concerto, an abstract form came into his mind, which he then translated into a sculpture. This Adagio was the first of his non-figurative sculptures. Robinson then embarked on a series of abstract sculptures with the aim of symbolizing human values and our concepts of the dynamic processes which shape our lives. In this ‘Universe Series’ of symbolic sculptures and tapestries, which comprises over 100 works, he combined scientific and mathematical principles with artistic aesthetic. One example is Joy of Living (1993), a curving band of stainless steel. The symbolic Elation (1983) conveys the punching of the fist in triumph.

A number of Robinson's sculptures show scientific concepts, such as matter/antimatter in Janus, evolution in Evolution the explosions of stars in StarBurst. He produced sculptures related to fiber bundles and to Borromean rings. He has also made a set of tapestries, woven in Aubusson, France.

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