Robin Wise
Remembering Robin
ROBIN WISE
Born 1961, died 2021.
I would like you to join me in a celebration of the work of Robin Wise who sadly passed away in 2021 aged just 59. Although originally from Stirling, Robin Wise had resided in Aberdeen since 1991. He was a quiet and gentle self-taught artist, who was recognised as being on the Autistic Spectrum shortly after his birth in 1961. He was particularly thankful to those around him at Newton Dee – a community based on the outskirts of Aberdeen, that supports learning disabled adults to live, as well as find meaningful work and learn new skills, – who gave him the space and support to develop his skills and his own individual style. Robin particularly liked working in the bakery on site, and many of his drawings depict his life in this unique community.
His work first came to my attention when I was a judge for a Project Ability exhibition in 2019, as part of a conference for the ‘International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities’. I was instantly taken by his intricate black and white drawings, but he did not make the final selection for that exhibition. I immediately decided to include three works by him in my 2020 exhibition titled Monochromatic Minds in London. He was then also selected to be part of an online exhibition with my Gallery, from an open callout through my website in April 2020 – that was titled Art | Unlocked | Unearthed.
He often drew in black and white, from a mix of memory, photographs, pictures from books and postcards, as well as images he asked staff to print from the internet. They all tended to relate to his day-to-day life and events he attended. The lines and angles that he chose to draw were the parts that stood out and interested him. His choice of using just black and white, enhanced the two-dimensional quality of his work. This became especially evident in his exploration of the width and depth of lines rather than using shading.
His work was not exhibited widely during his lifetime, but he was lucky enough to see his work exhibited as part of my Monochromatic Minds exhibition in London, and shortly after he died his work was included in a three person show at Project Ability in Glasgow as part of the 2021 Glasgow International.
Newton Dee and I hope that you enjoy looking through Robin’s exhibition, in remembrance of his life and art.
Introduction
Robin had a love of drawing people – both those he knew, and those he took photographs of, musicians he admired and other people imagery that he asked to be printed from the internet. More often than not, it was just one person, but occasionally it was groups of people, like the first featuring several musicians. He really seemed to capture the character of the people that he drew.
People
Buildings
Again Robin worked from photographs or images printed from the internet of places he had visited or places that he wanted to visit. Quite often his work densely covered the page and included the minute detail of the bricks and chimneys. People and transport occasionally featured as part of these scenes too.
“Robin and I go way way back, but more recently I was lucky enough to work with him for 10 years at The Craft Studio in Newton Dee. Watching him evolve and explore how he expresses himself through creativity was a truly inspiring experience. Robin was a man of few words, but his drawings and photographs give us a wonderful glimpse as to how he understood the world around him.”
Spacious Surroundings
It seems Robin had a whole section of drawings that were quite simply a house or one or two trees and very little else, leaving an open void around them. In these drawings, the sun, clouds and four flying birds feature heavily with Robin bringing them together in his own classic style. The first drawing here also shows a piano outdoors with what I believe is a snowman and father christmas, both characters featuring several times in Robin’s works.
Dense Surroundings
These may be dense forests filling the pages with every tree and branch included or images of the countryside often including quirky looking bridges. Once more, each architectural feature being beautifully detailed, with Robin taking his time to create these works.
“Robin was our friend and housemate. We knew he was an artist, but we knew him as a lover of art and music. We knew him for his quiet presence. For his dancing in the sitting room when he thought no one was watching. He always made tea in the evening for anyone who wanted a cup, and he always made our sitting room welcome for all. He would draw, listen to music, dance and keep every object in the sitting room where he thought it’s rightful spot should be. Every guest who entered our house had their picture taken. And every opportunity for a sweet treat was a quiet cause for celebration. Robin was quiet, but he created a space where life could abound around him. We miss him, and are glad to have shared our time with him.”
Colour works
Very occasionally colour featured in Robin's work, and how welcome it is to see this. Either splashes of colour across the piece, or one colour across a building - both are simply beautiful to look at.
Early work
These two works are early black and white works from Robin. The first work is a rare drawing where Robin features himself within the work. He is sat in the studio with one of his polaroid cameras neaby. The second work is of the inside of a room of a house that Robin had lived in. It features a piano, with a thin red line of colour – Robin was known to love playing a few notes on pianos when he saw them.
“I made a trip up north to see him. Robin was delightful, a gentle modest man initially a little shy, but then he took great pleasure in showing me his home, his studio, the bakery where he worked, his friends. Robin’s meticulous drawings were made with such confidence and certainty. His trademark black line never faltered. His portraits were whimsical, his buildings architecturally accurate, and his forests dense and mysterious. ”
Polaroids
“Robin loved to take photos of everyone that came into his house and loved for people to take photos of him when he was out and about too, especially in cafe’s. He also really liked taking photos of hoovers and piano’s. In every new house he would go into, he would check it out to see where these items were, then play two keys on the piano and take a photo of it. He normally had a stack of polaroids in his pocket that would be a mixture of recent ones, and a hand picked selection from his back catalogue. It was very rare that Robin would leave the house without his camera and he would always make sure there was a healthy stock of film to go with it. Individually, they always looked like they were taken at such ungratifying angles, but when you see them together, they have so much style.”
– Simeon Newbatt reflecting on Robin's love of polaroids
“Robin, my uncle, was a very quiet and gentle man. He had a true passion for drawing, which you can see in his art by the way he captures the subject in their environment. Robin was a kind and loving soul; he is truly missed by all the people close to him and will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Rest in peace Robin
Thank you for sharing your love of art with the world.
