Aurora Robson is a Canadian-American artist who works in sculpture, installation, painting and collage focusing on themes related to the environment.

Early life and education

Born in Canada in 1972, Robson grew up in Hawaii and now resides in New York. Robson attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

where she graduated with a B.A. in visual arts and art history.

Work

Robson's primary focus is creating works made with plastic collected by intercepting the waste stream, repurposing plastic into art before it is sent to recycling. While her initial work was with common household plastics like water bottles and caps, she is currently focused on large scale sculptures made with industrial plastic. She also paints and creates 3-dimensional collages made with junk mail and excess packaging. In 2008, Robson founded Project Vortex, a not-for-profit organization consisting of artists, designers and architects from around the world that also work with plastic. The organization strives to bring awareness to

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

and encourage cleanups of waterways. In 2013, she gave a Ted talk at TedxPeachtree entitled "Trash+Love" introducing "Sculpture+Intercepting the Waste Stream," an open source course she designed to foster creative stewardship at academic institutions. The course was first taught by Robson at

Mary Baldwin University Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...

in 2012. Her goal for the course is to inspire others to look at junk differently and rather than discard it, to create art. Robson is the recipient of numerous grants including the Pollock Krasner Grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, a

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

Fellowship in Sculpture, a TED/Lincoln Re-Imagine Prize and a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Art Work Grant. Robson's work and philosophies have been included in WIRED UK, Art & Antiques,Gomez, Edward. "Drawn Together", ''

Art & Antiques ''Art & Antiques'' is an American arts magazine. History 1984 launch ''Art & Antiques'' launched its premier issue in March 1984. While the magazine disclaimed any connection to a previous publication of the same name, the company had in fact b ...

'', 2010. Scholastic Issues, BBC News The Forum,BBC News
"The Forum: Plasticity"
'' TBBC News'', London, 27 May 2015. National Geographic ASPIRE Textbook, Houston Chronicle and other publications, programs and textbooks. Some of her exhibitions include: "Plastic Fantastic" at Honolulu Museum of Art in Honolulu HI, "Sacrifice + Bliss" at

Franklin Park Conservatory Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden and conservatory located in Columbus, Ohio. It is open daily and an admission fee is charged. Today, it is a horticultural and educational institution showcasing exotic plant ...

& Botanical Gardens in Columbus OH; "Stayin’ Alive" at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation in

Charlotte, NC Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

; "Everything, All At Once, Forever" at the

Figge Art Museum The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region. The Figge works closely with sever ...

in Davenport IA and "The Great Indoors" at the Rice Gallery in Houston TX. In 2018, she opened "Gravity Schmavity" at Penn State Arboretum, PA The sculpture "Dyno" is permanently installed at The Kingsbrae Garden in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. It was made with broken plastic fish boxes. Her sculpture "Lift" is installed permanently in the Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. "Lift" has solar powered motors that help it rotate and is made with 10,000 discarded plastic bottles and 3,000 bottle caps.

References

External links

Official website

Hawaii Public Radio Interview
Plastic Fantastic? Or Plastic Free Futures by Noe Tanigawa * Alternatives Journal
Plastic Caught in a Riptide
by Eric Nay
Turning Plastic Pollution into Fantastical Dreamscapes
video by BBC Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, Aurora 1972 births Living people 20th-century American sculptors Environmental artists Canadian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American sculptors Columbia University alumni