The Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) is honored to present Robyn Horn: Material Illusions. This exhibition features Horn’s paintings and sculpture from 2011 to 2021, and showcases in particular her recent endeavors during the Covid-19 pandemic. Included are her chainsaw formed slipping stone, millstone, and industrial series sculptures, in addition to carved and layered multimedia paintings.

Robyn Horn brings an uncommon intensity to sculpting from a single large section of the tree. Distinctive to her process, Horn often carves what appears to be a series of attached components, referencing joinery. As if turning wood inside out to expose the secret crannies and underbelly of the raw material, she transforms the surface texture of the wood grain with repetitive mark-making. Her irresistible kinship for the material invites us to pay close attention to these richly textured, powerful forms, whether intimate or massive in scale.

Her two-dimensional work is similarly infused with her reverence for wood. By applying multiple layers of acrylic paint and then making bold marks, scrapes, and cuts, she intentionally reveals the rich texture and underpainting. Her complex process and approach to balance, scale, and spatial connections result in powerful and magnificent artworks that have earned Horn a place in the pantheon of American art.

Paperback

43 pages