Alexander Robinson
Since my childhood, I’ve been enamoured with art. My family used to joke that I was an easy kid because you could hand me paper and crayons and I’d be quiet for hours. That early love grew into a full art practice and eventually led to my first self-funded exhibition, introducing a body of work exploring perception and stereotypes through figures with flowerpots for heads. Those paintings resonated deeply with people and opened up a lot of new opportunities for me.
After years of creating what others expected, I felt disconnected from my own artistic voice, so I started over. Some questioned why I’d abandon what was “working,” but I knew I had to rediscover the joy that first drew me to art. (no pun intended)
I started painting without a plan, trusting intuition and letting go of expectations and what emerged felt raw, textured, and deeply personal.
I'm still proud of my older work, but this new direction feels more honest and true to who I am now. I honestly think the theme error 404: Work in Process mirrors where I'm at now embracing uncertainty and putting continued authenticity as my true measure of success.
Momma
Acrylic painting on canvas, 36” x 36"
Jump The Fence / Nikki Nine Door
Acrylic and wax pastel on canvas, 30" x 40"
About Alexander Robinson
Alexander Robinson works at the intersection of memory, identity, and cultural inheritance.
A multidisciplinary artist and MFA candidate at OCAD University, Robinson’s work has appeared in The Artist Project, Hypebeast, and the Oprah Winfrey Network’s The Kings of Napa.
At the heart of his practice is the afro pick, an intergenerational tool used to detangle hair and, in Robinson’s hands, to untangle personal experiences and collective histories. Its teeth drag through layers of acrylic paint, leaving traces that allude to the care, labour, and love of generations whose histories precede and live through him.
His visual language blends this inherited culture of the Caribbean Diaspora with the two-dimensional gaming worlds, urban architecture, and everyday landscapes that shaped his childhood and sense of self.
Robinson’s work is an ongoing reflection on what it means to navigate the world as a second-generation Canadian, balancing inherited stories with the immediacy of lived experience.