John Robinson 'CNUT'

John Robinson 

CNUT

“When he was at the height of his ascendancy, he 

ordered his chair to be placed on the sea-shore 

as the tide was coming in. Then he said to the 

rising tide, “You are subject to me, as the land on 

which I am sitting is mine, and no one has resisted 

my overlordship with impunity. I command you, 

therefore, not to rise on to my land, nor to presume 

to wet the clothing or limbs of your master.” But the 

sea came up as usual, and disrespectfully drenched 

the king’s feet and shins. So jumping back, the king 

cried, “Let all the world know that the power of 

kings is empty and worthless, and there is no king 

worthy of the name save Him by whose will heaven, 

earth and the sea obey eternal laws.” 

Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, 

‘Historia Anglorum (History of the English People)’ 

(c. 1154)

4

5

John Robinson’s technical prowess could be 

seen to be shared with the pantheon of 

great masters of the 17th and 18th centuries 

including artists such as Diego Velazquez 

and Francisco Goya with a developing focus 

on self portraiture adopted by the likes of 

Rembrandt Van Rijn or more recently Frida 

Kahlo. However Robinson’s figurative yet often 

absurd works offer a contemporary subversion 

of the rich tradition of self portraiture. 

Robinson’s process often involves private 

performance, seasoned with personal, cultural 

and socio-political symbolism, which is 

recorded in the shed in his garden, then a still 

is taken from the video of these actions, which 

is then developed and exquisitely rendered, 

usually in oil paint on canvas. The final process 

imbues the subject with an intangible emotive 

quality that only the gesture of painting can 

imply, made all the more remarkable by the 

fact that perhaps only two or three colours 

are dexterously used to create his vision. For 

Robinson these paintings embrace personal 

concern, disclosure and catharsis, for the 

voyeur the experience appears both elaborately 

grandiose and awkwardly revealing. 

It is widely accepted that the function and 

aim of a portrait, be it of other or of self, is 

to reveal or expose often elusive aspects of 

the subject. The notion of ‘exposure’ in these 

paintings, is notably ambiguous and 

psychologically complex, embodying a duality 

that represents both continuity and departure 

from the great tradition. This duality is well 

highlighted by Fernando Pessoa who once wrote 

“Masquerades disclose the reality of souls. 

As long as no one sees who we are, we can 

tell the most intimate details of our life. I 

sometimes muse over this sketch of a story 

about a man afflicted by one of those personal 

tragedies born of extreme shyness who one 

day, while wearing a mask I don’t know where, 

told another mask all the most personal, most 

secret, most unthinkable things that could 

be told about his tragic and serene life. And 

since no outward detail would give him away, 

he having disguised even his voice, and since 

he didn’t take careful note of whoever had 

listened to him, he could enjoy the ample 

sensation of knowing that somewhere in the 

world there was someone who knew him as not 

even his closest and finest friend did. When he 

walked down the street he would ask himself 

if this person, or that one, or that person over 

there might not be the one to whom he’d once, 

wearing a mask, told his most private life. Thus 

would be born in him a new interest in each 

person, since each person might be his only, 

unknown confidant.” 

As Picasso once stated, to be often re-quoted, 

‘Art is a lie that makes us realize truth’- a 

mask worn provides the protection so that the 

truth can then be told perhaps. So what is the 

truth? Who are we? We live in a ‘selfie’ ravaged 

world of hide and seek, where the ubiquitous 

manipulated self represented image fills the 

cloud and airwaves. A world contorting a pout 

to the mirror which is turned for each and 

everyone to see. Is this what a vision of self 

looks like? Friedrich Nietzsche wrote “One’s 

own self is well hidden from one’s own self; 

of all mines of treasure, one’s own is the last 

to be dug up.” So who is John Robinson? 

4

Perhaps John doesn’t quite know. He, and we 

through his paintings, see exposed glimpses 

through a process of excavation, through 

layers of mystery and concealment. 

To return to the pervasive ‘Selfie’. I assume 

I am not alone in finding the viewing of 

them often more than a little ridiculous and 

occasionally quite troubling (especially on 

societal mass). Perhaps I’m just confused by 

them. Do they represent a narcissistic side 

of our character? With apps to make the skin 

clearer and eyes bigger, are we looking at a 

delusion of grandeur? Or conversely are we 

looking at a quieter and more communicative 

need to connect, to be witnessed, a vulnerable 

state, tainted with self doubt and perhaps, in 

more extreme cases, self loathing? 

‘CNUT’, the title of the exhibition makes 

reference to one of Robinson’s paintings titled 

‘Knig Cnut’, a bizarre and grandiose portrait, 

where artist absurdly postures as a parody 

King and self appointed ruler of his kingdom. 

When speaking with John, the person as 

opposed to the performer, there are seemingly 

no hubristic delusions, instead humility and 

a little doubt, occasionally give way to more 

crushing spasms of self deprecation. In the 

emphatically titled painting ‘Allegory of Brexit 

(Knives and Balloons / I Hate Myself and I 

Want to Die)’, we see in the foreground, the 

larger than life protagonist in confident pose 

despite the deeply concerning maelstrom of 

vulnerability, violence and fragility implied by 

the rest of the painted activity. John then points 

out, lingering in the background, in his words 

not mine ‘the fat, bald, cunt lost and loitering’. 

The often resplendent theatricality of the 

presented situations, barely mask the more 

prosaic ‘kitchen sink’ vulnerability of each 

painting. Charles Dicken’s once stated that 

“There are only two styles of portrait painting; 

the serious and the smirk.” Robinson’s 

works often leave the viewer in a limbo of 

doubt as to whether to laugh or to cry, at 

seemingly simultaneously absurdly comic and 

psychologically revealing studies in to the 

human condition. You get the feeling either 

would be fine and welcomed by John. Much 

less ambiguous however, in its emotional 

intent or resultant message, one epic painting 

references the ‘Triumph of Death’ by Pieter 

Bruegel painted in 1562. Made in response 

to the growing panic surrounding the Covid 

pandemic, Robinson lost his father to the 

disease midway through the making of 

the work drenching it with personal and 

universal pertinence. 

To search and then to understand oneself is so 

continually elusive and ephemeral, so perhaps 

it is no wonder that genuine connection with 

an ‘other’, in a day and age when the avatar 

often stands in front of the our ‘real’ more 

shadowy entity, feels more and more difficult 

and urgent. Carl Jung wrote that “The meeting 

of two personalities is like the contact of two 

chemical substances: if there is any reaction, 

both are transformed.” By John allowing us in 

to his guarded world in such an unguarded 

way, I hope that he and we can ‘feel’ our 

way forwards. 

Joseph Clarke, 2021 

5

Knig Cnut 

oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm 

6

7

8

Buddha Beard 


9

8 of Cups 


10

11

12

Me and Death in the Woods 


13

Hombo 


14

15

16

Dear Gustav Nose Woods 


17

Kazimir’s Birthday 


18

19

20

Ovals and Plant 


21

Cuckold with Flowers 

oil on paper on canvas, 60 x 40 cm 

22

23

24

Hermit with Flowers 


25

All My Friends / Goodnight Elizabeth 


26

27

28

Pirate 


29

The Landlord 


30

31

32

Cocksmoker 


33

Don’t Worry Im Perfectly Safe 


34

35

36

The Reflecting God 


37

Survivor 


38

39

40

Survivor 


41

Survivor Portrait 


42

43

44

Survivor 2020 


45

Allegory of Brexit (Knives and Balloons / I Hate Myself and I want to Die) 


46

47

48

The Triumph of Death (for Phil Robinson) 


49

John Robinson was born in Worcester, UK where 

he still resides. He studied Fine Art at Falmouth 

College of Arts, spending most of the time whilst 

there skipping tutorials to travel to Plymouth 

to be taught by the notorious and idiosyncratic 

painter Robert Lenkiewicz. Robinson was awarded 

the Richard Ford Scholarship by the Royal 

Academy of Arts and spent a summer as artist in 

residence at the Prado Museum, Madrid absorbing 

the works of Velazquez and Goya. He stayed in 

Madrid for a further decade broken by a year at 

Central Saint Martins on a Masters degree in fine 

art. He later developed his duel use of ‘painting’ 

as revelation and disguise; ‘self portrait as 

(other…)’. He has won the Peter Spicer Award for 

Excellence in Creative Arts (First Place), Richard 

Ford Award for Painting, Royal Academy, London 

(First Place), South Square Trust Scholarship for 

MA study at Byam Shaw School of Art, Central 

Saint Martins, London, Alfa Romeo Award Art 

(‘Best of show nominee’)Madrid, Spain, Premio 

de Pintura Focus-Abengoa, Seville, Spain 

(Winner) and the Hauser and Wirth Prize, Hauser 

and Wirth Somerset UK (First Prize). Robinson 

has widely exhibited his work internationally. 

Works are held in notable collections including 

University of the Arts London permanent 

collection, Nicolas & Maxinne Leslau Collection, 

Focus-Abengoa Foundation in Seville, Coldwell 

Banker in Madrid, Falmouth College of Arts 

Library, Museo del Ferrocarril in Madrid, Stedlijk 

Museum in Amsterdam, Wellcome Collection in 

London and the British Council Collection. He 

is managed by Stjarna Arts. ‘CNUT’ is his debut 

solo exhibition at Anima Mundi. 

50

Published by Anima Mundi to coincide with John Robinson ‘CNUT’ 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or 

by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers 

Anima Mundi . Street-an-Pol . St. Ives . Cornwall . +44 (0)1736 793121 . mail@animamundigallery.com . www.animamundigallery.com

John Robinson 'CNUT'

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?