[“Spring” by Avis Collins Robinson, 2023. (Photographed by Steve Parke for The Washington Post)]
Abstraction in visual art is a combination of different elements, including color, line, form, and perspective. It is also rooted in an artist’s personal experiences.
For Avis Collins Robinson, a Black woman artist, her experiences as a Black woman in America are a precious source of inspiration. Her art reflects the lives and struggles of her ancestors, who refused to be defeated despite the challenges they faced. In her art, Robinson incorporates history and memory in subtle and explicit ways.
She reflects on the intersection of her identity as a Black woman and her art in an article for the Washington Post.
She discusses how her lived experience shapes her visual art, including her quilt called “Spring” which depicts the reawakening of nature during the season, but also acknowledges the pain and injustice that springtime has brought to Black communities in Washington D.C. throughout history.
Robinson explains how her technique for this piece required her to plan in more detail than usual while maintaining a sense of spontaneity, and how she incorporates found fabrics with personal meaning in her work, connecting her family’s history to her artistic practice.
She also introduces “Seasons,” a project for The Washington Post which will continue through the year, exploring new directions in her art while honoring the traditions of African American fabric art.
The article is a beautiful reflection on the power of art to represent personal experiences and histories while also creating something new and beautiful.
Read her piece in The Washington Post here.
