Gina Lee Robbins

Chicago, IL

Artist Statement

I create objects and installations using clay, fiber and found or repurposed materials. I’m driven by materiality, combining textures to explore points of physical, sensual and conceptual tension. Working intuitively, I assemble, carve, stitch, and weave together seemingly disparate shapes and materials until something otherworldly yet viscerally familiar almost breathes before me.

Found and reclaimed materials, abandoned by civilization or nature, are irresistible to me. These artifacts serve as an archaeological study of my own earthly and psychological journeys and become a more universal exploration of what we gain, lose or discard as we progress along a linear timeline. I blend natural and human-made materials to create organic forms, further considering the implicit struggle and codependent relationship between built and natural worlds.

Sample Works

Artist Bio

Gina Lee Robbins is an Indianapolis-based visual and teaching artist. She’s been working in clay for 30 years, stitching for 45, and picking up artifacts along waterways, wooded paths, city alleys and thrift shops for as long as she can remember. As a teaching artist, she works with groups of veterans and active service people, K-12 students and educators, and individuals affected by gun violence, terminal illness and other social and physical traumas. Recent awards include a 2025 Power Plant project grant by Big Car Collaborative with funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation, and a 2024 third space/fresh StArt award by Arts for Learning Indiana to disrupt an Indianapolis Public School environment with museum-quality installations. She has exhibited or curated in locales including: the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Koehnline Museum of Art, Rockford Museum of Art, Harold Washington Library, Indianapolis Art Center, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Northern Illinois University, University of Wisconsin, and SOFA Chicago, among others. Her sculptures can be found in the Hyatt, Eskenazi Health, and other collections worldwide.