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STATEMENT & CHRONOLOGY (Downloadable pdf)

I am one of those people who must be in the natural world. As a child living in Minneapolis, I spent peaceful summer days fishing at the nearby lake. As a teen I spent my summers on the lakes sailing or paddling Minnesota’s boundary waters in a canoe. For me, the natural world is not a refuge from the world of activity; it is an important part of my being.

I primarily work with the rocky, rough and desolate places of my home. It is the mystery in the silence of these places that interests me. It is the sculpting reality of light that motivates me.

I generally work in series, finding that I can better express what I want to say with multiple images.

Over the years I have worked more and more from a reductionist point of view. I will frequently alter the scale and spatial relationship of objects, increasing or decreasing their importance in the image to further emphasize the mystery.

I intend my images to reveal something more than the objects in them and to move the viewer to a higher level of sensual awareness. In doing so, I trust we will pay attention to the world around us and become more compassionate toward and connected with our home.

Ford Robbins
Santa Fe, New Mexico

CHRONOLOGY

Born: 1942 San Pedro, California
Came to New Mexico: 1988


Selected Museum Exhibitions:
2004 “FIVE: Contemporary Photography Invitational”, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Invitational.
2003 “American Landscape Photography”, United States Department of State, United States Embassy, Oman. Curated by Virginia L. Shore. Invitational.
2002 “Ford Robbins: Photographs, 1996-2001”, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Pittsfield,
Massachusetts. Curated by Daniel O’Connell. Invitational.
1999 “ImageWord/WordImage”, Harwood Museum, Taos, New Mexico. Curated by David Witt. Invitational.
“Monothon 13”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Curated by Kathan Brown.
1998 “American Landscape Photography”, United States Department of State, United States Embassy, Asunción, Paraguay. Curated by Virginia L. Shore. Invitational.
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2004 Katrina Lasko Gallery, Bernalillo, New Mexico. Invitational.
2000 Segreto Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Invitational.
1998 Southern Light Gallery, Amarillo College, Amarillo, Texas. Invitational.
1997 Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Curated by Philip Lohman. Invitational.
1996 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Invitational.
Virtual Exhibitions:
2003 Artist of the Month, “New Mexico Photo Tour”, nmmagazine.com Invitational.
Two-Person Exhibitions:
2003 “Transcending The Eye”, Amsterdam Whitney International Fine Arts, New York, New York. Curated by Ruth Tucker.
2002 “Illumination of the Eye”, Amsterdam Whitney International Fine Arts, New York, New York. Invitational. Birkshire Artisans Gallery, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Invitational.
Selected Recent Group Exhibitions:
2003 “Transcending the Eye”, Amsterdam Whitney Int’l Fine Art, New York NY
2002 “Illumination of the Eye”, Amsterdam Whitney Int’l Fine Art, New York NY
2001

“Black & White and In Between”, Segreto Comtemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Invitational.
“Landscape: Photography of Ford Robbins and David Noble”, Johnsons of Madrid Galleriesof Fine Art, Madrid, New Mexico. Invitational
“Contemporary Art 2001”, Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Juried by Louis Grachos.
2000 “Contemporary Art 2000”, Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Juried by Joseph Tragott.
“Third Annual foca Artists Exhibition”, LewAllen Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Juried by James Moore.
“Monothon 14”, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Curated.
“Color”, Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine Art, Madrid, New Mexico. Invitational.
1999 “Second Annual foca Artists Exhibition”, LewAllen Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Juried by David Turner.
“A Celebration of the Builders”, The Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine Art, Madrid, New Mexico. Invitational.
“Realism ‘99”, Period Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska. Juried by Larry Bradshaw.
“For Love of the Intimate Environment”, The Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine Art, Madrid, New Mexico. Invitational.
“ Camera and Eye”, Agora Gallery, New York, New York. Curated by Micki Weiser. “Our Favorites of ‘99”, Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine Art, Madrid, New Mexico. Invitational.
“101 Cups - 101 Artists”, Karan Ruhlen Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Invitational. “Monothon 13”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Curated by Kathan Brown.
1998 “ 7th Annual Exhibition”, The Art Institute & Gallery of Salisbury, Salisbury, Maryland. Juried by David Scott.
“ 101 Cups - 101 Artists”, Karan Ruhlen Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Invitational. San Francisco Camerawork, San Francisco, California. Invitational. “Monothon 12”,
Selected Recent Awards/Commissions:
2000 Juror’s Award, “Contemporary Art 2000”, The Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico
1999 Commissioned Photographs, George and Ann Rogers, Mora, New Mexico
1997 Certificate of Recognition, The Legislature of the State of New Mexico
1997 Commissioned Photograph, Twentieth Century Unlimited Music Series
Education:
1987 Attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, Minnnesota
1978-84 Private Studies in Photography
1967 J.D. in Law, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1964 B.A. in Government, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin
Teaching/Art Related Employment:
2001 Assistant to Dan Welden, Master Printer, Solarplate Printing, Florence, Italy
1999-2003 Instructor in Solarplate Intaglio, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
1998- cont. Lecturer in Photography, Ghost Ranch Conference Center, Abuquiu
1995-2000 Member, Visual Arts Advisory Council, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Bibliography: (*Reviews)
FIVE: Contemporary Photography Invitational”, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, 2004
Paul Weideman, “Photos Develop Into Superior Editing Job”, PASATIEMPO, Santa Fe New        Mexican, June 9 - 15, 2000
*David Clemmer, “Group Show: Word/Image Image/Word” THE Magazine, Jan/Feb 2000
John Villani, “FOCA, state museum enjoy artistic symbiosis”, Albuquerque Journal, January 10,
       1999
Lynn Cline, “FOCA show gives local artists more exposure”, PASATIEMPO, Santa Fe New
       Mexican, January 15, 1999
”Connecting Words and Images: Contemporary Artists to Mount Edgy Show at Harwood”, The
       Taos News, October 14, 1999
Robert Nott, “Oddball Exhibit Came From Playing, Laughing: Dada Mixed Media at Harwood”,
       PASATIEMPO, Santa Fe New Mexican, October 22, 1999
Nancy Wood, ed., The Serpent’s Tongue: Prose, Poetry, and Art of the New Mexico Pueblos,

       Dutton Books, New York, 1997
New Mexico Contemporary ‘97, Albuquerque United Artists, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1997
 Selected Public and Corporate Collections:

 

State of New Mexico Capitol Art Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico
City of Brea Cultural Center, Brea, California
Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, New York
Security American Financial Enterprises, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Maki-Weatherby, Inc., Bloomington, Minnesota
St. Luke Presbyterian Church, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Numerous Private Collections

 Represented By:
 

Amsterdam Whitney Int’l Fine Art, New York, NY
Chandra Cerrito, Napa, CA
Joan Sapiro, Littleton, CO
Johnsons Galleries of Fine Art, Madrid, NM
SF MOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA

A complete chronology is available upon request

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   FORD ROBBINS     7 Monte Alto Court, Santa Fe, NM 87508  •  phone 505.466.7665