PENUMBRA WORKSPACE PROGRAM | NYC | 2020
ROBIN CROOKALL
Robin Crookall's intricate sculptural constructions, interpreted through the camera, reimagine interstitial spaces drawn from the domestic, the urban, as well as from the history of photography into subtle magical realities. The series, “Real Spaces,” is nearing the culminating stage, and the residency at Penumbra will provide support for the development of the work towards a hand-made book, making use of the array of post-production and book-making tools to realize the proposed endeavor. The jury was impressed with the consistency in vision with Crookall’s project and recognized the potential. We look forward to seeing the finished publication.
–Arthur Ou (Artist and Educator, Member of the 2020 Jury).
Image © Robin Crookall. Courtesy of the artist.
“[… ] It’s the pursuit of the uncanny that drives me to create mundane objects and spaces for the subjects of my imagery. I build and photograph, architectural models; small dioramas, made of cardboard, tape, and hot glue, because they can be molded into something precious, convincing, and drab. Simple materials, turned into elaborate objects aide in my drive for realness through the unreal.[ …]”
Robin Crookall came from Washington State to New York to pursue her Masters in Fine Arts. In 2016 she received her MFA, from New York University. There she continued to fine tune her sculpture and photography skills to create uncanny images of small scale architectural models. She uses the subject of the home or room because they are familiar and safe; underwhelming and routine, like an old lover. Surprises come in tiny increments, until suddenly the familiar becomes utterly unfamiliar. She creates a very particular kind of illusion from these photographed models. Not the big flashy kind where an elephant disappears right before your eyes. But the subtlety of the card counter, the slight of hand, and unnoticeable graceful dance of the pickpocketer. She is not a wizard, there is no real magic here. Sometimes the best tricks are the ones we don’t even see. Crookall is a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in photography from The New York Foundation for the Arts. In 2017, she participated in a group show at Seattle’s Soil Art Gallery, exhibited at Art Basel in Miami, and completed a two person show at Brooklyn’s McCarren Park. Robin was interviewed in July 2016 by local artist and writer, Wenxin Zhang, for an online Chinese photography magazine, IndieFoto. Previously in 2013 she completed a solo show at Seattle’s 4Culture Gallery and her post bacc at University of Montana. She is currently living and creating in Brooklyn.
