4Brian Robinson is a celebrated Indigenous artist of his generation, a leader in his field in Australia and his community, and has recently developed a strong international reputation. He is of the Kala Lagaw Ya and Wuthathi language groups of the Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula. Born in 1974 on Waiben (Thursday Island) and now Cairns-based, Robinson is known for his printmaking and public sculptures that use a variety of techniques to produce bold, innovative and distinctive works. His work is a unique blend of the organic and manmade. It observes the traditions and styles of the Torres Strait but also the influence of Western art history, popular culture and wide-ranging graphic traditions. In recent years, it is his public art practice that has brought him mainstream attention.

Major public art installation commissions include Reef Guardian (Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef), Cairns (2017); Aura of the campfire, Kmart Entrance Sculpture, Port Macquarie (2016); Githalayl, Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, Monaco (2016); Playfulness of the Perennials, Toowoomba Library and Civic Square, Toowoomba (2015); Woven Wonders of the Reef, DFO Play Art, Skygate, Brisbane Airport Corporation (2015); Urban Bloom and Deco Bloom, Wood Street, Mackay (2015); and Woven Fish, stainless steel fish sculptures, Cairns Esplanade Project, Cairns (2002–3).

Robinson’s work has featured in exhibitions nationally and internationally. Most recently, Robinson was profiled in Australia: Defending the Ocean, USA tour (2017–18); Defying Empire, 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2017); Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns (2017); Taba Naba — Australia, Oceania, Arts of the Sea People, Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, Monaco (2016); Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (2015); GOMA Q: Contemporary Queensland Art, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (2015); Saltwater Country, Gold Coast City Art Gallery (2014) and national and international tour; and SOLID! Queensland Contemporary Indigenous Sculpture, Cairns Regional Gallery (2014); and Land, Sea and Sky: Contemporary Art of the Torres Strait, Queensland Art Gallery (2011). Robinson’s work is held in major public and private collections nationally and internationally.