West Australian artist Robyn Bischoff moves between mediums with ease—from drawing and painting to ceramics and sculpture. Creating work that possesses lyrical applications of colour, throughout her decadeslong career, Bischoff has become known for her vibrantly impressionistic landscapes and abstract explorations of hue and texture.
“What we will be exhibiting really shows the progression of an artist who has always created from necessity,” says Bunbury Regional Art Gallery director, Michael Bianco. “She hasn’t gone to art school or locked herself into a style. She has used painting, drawing, ceramics and even performance to explore different ideas relating to her engagement with the world.”
Living and working in the coastal town of Bunbury in South West WA, Bischoff’s oeuvre has been heavily influenced by the surrounding landscape. Travel to Europe has also impacted Bischoff’s way of working, and she has cited German expressionists Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter as particular inspirations. Reflecting the expressive energy of Kandinsky’s work, paintings like Bischoff’s Deep Majestica depict nebula-like blooms, while others are more earthbound; domestic interiors and forest landscapes flushed with rich colour and painterly brushstrokes.
“There is a distinct energy to what Robyn makes,” explains Bianco. “Lately she has been working with materials she has on hand and has been constructing a multi-layered orb sculpture from chicken wire. Each shape on the wire is painted and the whole structure hangs from the ceiling. In addition, she has also made a type of cubby house that relates to the idea of accessing one’s inner child. Looking over all of Robyn’s work, it’s a great moment to acknowledge her career and the enduring practice she’s had.”
A Colourful Life
Robyn Bischoff
Bunbury Regional Art Gallery
Until 26 February
This article was originally published in the January/February 2023 print edition of Art Guide Australia.
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