Tony Robbin: A Retrospective

Kaleidoscopic,intricatelylayeredandcolorful,TonyRobbin'spaintingshaveexploredandexperimentedwiththeboundariesofmathematicalspaceinartformorethanfortyyears.Drawingonhisextensiveknowledgeofphysicsandmaths-togetherwiththeadventofcomputerprogrammingforgeometry-Robbin'spaintingsachieveaboundlesseffect:thespatialfourthdimensionisattainedthroughhisinterplayofgrids,manipulationofstructures,andhisuseofcolorandformacrossthecanvas.AfoundingmemberofthePatternandDecorationmovementinthe1970s,Robbinhasalsoalwaysbeenfascinatedwithincorporatingelementsofpatternintohiswork.HavinggrownupinJapanandIran,hisworkoftendisplaystheelaboratedecorationfoundintheartofthesecultures.TonyRobbin:ARetrospectivechroniclestheartist'sremarkableforty-yearcareerfrompaintingthroughreliefsculpture,tolightart,computerart,architectural-scalesculpture,andfinallybacktopainting.Robbin'sworkhasbeenshowninmorethantwenty-sixsoloexhibitionssincehisdebutattheWhitneyMuseumofAmericanArtin1974andincludedinmorethanonehundredgroupexhibitionsintwelvecountries.Heholdsthepatentfortheapplicationofquasicrystalgeometrytoarchitectureandhasimplementedthisgeometryforlarge-scalearchitecturalsculpturesbasedonquasicrystalpatterns.Robbinisalsotheauthorofseveralbookspublishedontherelationshipbetweenmathematicsandart,andhehaslecturedonthesubjectinEurope,Japan,andtheUnitedStates.Achronologyandcomprehensivebibliographycompletethevolume.