ROBYN O'NEIL
Hell (Triptych), 2011
Graphite/paper
83 5/8 x 84 x 2 2/3 (C) in. Frame
83 1/4 x 44 1/4 x 2 2/3 (LR) in. Frame
83 1/4 x 44 1/4 x 2 2/3 (LR) in. Frame
As befits the subject, “HELL” represents Robyn O’Neil’s largest and arguably most complex work to date. At 14’ long, incorporating over 35,000 collage elements and 65,000 figures, the project is...
As befits the subject, “HELL” represents Robyn O’Neil’s largest and arguably most complex work to date. At 14’ long, incorporating over 35,000 collage elements and 65,000 figures, the project is both a literal and figurative odyssey. Drawn features are interspersed with cut paper to create a dense multidimensional space. In O’Neil’s “HELL”, a somber narrative unfurls, drawing the viewer into a world of robed figures and sweat-suit clad men clambering to exit their terrifying and gruesome existence. Inspired by Giotto’s “Scenes from the Apocalypse”, O’Neil’s “HELL” rivals the medieval depiction of the end of the world in ambition and imagination.
Exhibitions
"Robyn O'Neil: HELL and the Paradisal," Inman Gallery, Houston, TX, 17 September 2022 - 5 November 2022."Telling Stories: Resilience and Struggle in Contemporary Narrative Drawing - Amy Cutler, Robyn O'Neil and Annie Pootoogook," Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, 21 November 2020 - 14 February 2021.
"Robyn O'Neil: WE, THE MASSES," Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, 18 October 2019 - 9 February 2020.
"Robyn O'Neil: Something Vanished over Paradise," SECCA, Winston-Salem, NC, 2 November 2017 - 7 January 2018.
"Hell," Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC, 13 October 2011 - 23 November 2011.
Literature
Blay, Christopher. “The Deep Dark Waters Overcome Us: Robyn O’Neil’s ‘WE, THE MASSES,’” Glasstire, 26 November 2019.
Bourbon, Matthew. “Robyn O’Neil’s first major museum show exudes a sense of dread and wonder,” The Dallas Morning News, 21 November 2019.