WORKS – WUNDERKAMMER by Renee Robbins

Renee Robbins is a Chicago-based visual artist. She creates otherworldly environments that investigate the complex relationships between humans, nature, and the cosmos by layering biomorphic forms. Her works feature intricate details and striking colour palettes. In her series Wunderkammer, Robbins presents her compositions in radial view.

Is there an underlying theme that connects these works?

Paintings in this series are like a cabinet of curiosities that offer diverse collections of wonder. Each work focuses on a specific taxonomy, such as plants, corals, butterflies, nudibranchs, fishes, as well as constellations. The variations and diversity within taxa are explored in a circular format. While the subjects reference categories in the natural world, I also play with imagined and invented forms.

Unlike your other works, this series takes on a radial form. Is there a specific reason for this?

I wanted to emphasize the circular format in these works because I think it references a cell, planet or target. It also focuses in on the main subject or taxa for each work.