Curriculum Vitae, Robert Woodbury
Robert Woodbury is a versatile Edmonton artist and designer.
Visual Art: I seek to challenge chronological definitions by using contemporary media to create artificially aged and weathered compositions. Time as a factor in valuation of work, effort or craft within the works is defied by a recreation of forces and actions of nature and time. The series “After Leonardo” sets up a relationship between modern expectations and time’s written effect on all things. Using traditional imagery mixed with expressionistic abstraction using modern materials and aged canvas questions the nature of “antiquity” and “modern”. A spin-off of this series is the investigations of assemblage, texture and the qualities of “stored memory” of objects. These smaller pieces are inspired by the energy or story of a central object or theme as it speaks to me. A combination of airbrushing, inks, latex and acrylic paints is used in these paintings, some of them unframed to feature the ragged and worn edges of the base material giving a closeness and exposed feel to the work. My latest series, ”Monumental” are crumpled canvas stretched lightly over foam board, exploring the relationship of human and geographic scale. These features human figures in landscape on aged canvas with found objects and applied digital photographic images. This method expands and builds on other chains of my exploration in an attempt to not only defy classification, but to fight the negative influence of classification in society.
Glass: Over a 15 year period with The Cat's Glass I have designed installations for the Jasper Park Lodge, West Edmonton Mall, The Macdonald Hotel, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows Church in Hobbema, the Mayfield Hotel, the Astoria Restaurant Banff, The Sawmill Restaurants, Red Tomato Restaurant in Canada Place, O’Byrne’s Irish Pub, The Druid, residences include the Pocklington Residence. Innovative structural glasswork and sculpture created in cooperation with Rob Dingman Architects, Jane Montgomery Architect, Mike Popidopolis Architects
Sculptures: Robert was involved in the creation of snow sculptures for The Quebec Snow Sculpture competitions for both national and international. Robert created Moostro Moosorski the fibreglass cow; now permanent mascot of the Winspear Centre, was instrumental in the Bison project for Strathcona Gateway Foundation. IMAX polar bear sculptures, puppets for the Onion Theatre 1998 Production of Midsummer Night's Dream, Mountain Glass sculptures, waves and Festival of Trees award winning sculptures displayed at the Cat's Glass in Edmonton, stage props, masks and sets for Hardesty School, Onion Theatre, Sir Unicorn Enterprises and Cambelltown School, Henry Moore inspired sculptures in clay in private collections, small bronzes now part of RDC collection.
The Works Visual Arts Celebration: Robert has created interactive and playful sculptures, installations and art happenings over the last 5 years including a large scale construction toy, pantograph, Foucault Pendulum, Caricatures, classical painting photo-props and much more.
Paintings: may be seen here on this site on many different styles and reflect the aesthetics of the renaissance masters combined with modern material exploration.
Employment: The Cat's Glass, Cambelltown Elementary School as an artist in residence, Chalkhouse Signage as designer and teacher. Robert has been involved in The WORKS visual arts festival since 1995 and is an outreach art instructor for Harcourt House teacher for
Memberships: Whyte Avenue Art Walk, Harcourt Gallery Wecan Society, the AFA and Latitude 53 Society of artists, Sculptors Association of Alberta
CGI artist: Tesserects Press, Hodgepog Press, Universal Maps of Canada, Aero Reprographics, Central Web Colourpress, photographic and image manipulation, layout, film stripping, plate making, Illustrator, Quark, Photoshop, Flash 5.
Web Pages: Mayfair Hotel, Bohemia Cyber Cafe, Hodgepog Press, The Books Collective, The Centre for Congregational Life Edmonton, TNT Underground Tanks, Aero Reprographics, Impact Graphics , Universal Maps of Canada, Chalkhouse Signage.
Education: Red Deer College '84, The University of Alberta BFA '86, English and Computing Science ; Athabasca University 90, Harcourt Gallery open drawing sessions since 95, City Arts Centre 01; Ceramic Sculpture.
