About Michael Sylvan Robinson (Sylvan, they/he)

An internationally-exhibited genderqueer fiber artist, activist, and leader in arts education, Michael Sylvan Robinson earned an M.F.A in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College (2008) and a B.A. from Bennington College (1989) with an emphasis in dance and drama. With a background in costume design and as a performance artist, their contemporary fiber art has been shown in galleries and museum exhibitions including Rome Art Week, SPRING / BREAK Art Show, the National Queer Arts Festival in San Francisco, and the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts. Sylvan’s fashion art was photographed for Vogue Germany, commissioned and worn at the Met Gala in 2021 by theater producer and fashion enthusiast, Jordan Roth; their Met Gala collaboration was featured in an interview for Vogue and Vogue France. Sylvan was interviewed on fashion art and activism for Dressed: The History of Fashion Podcast (Episode 239: April, 2022). Michael Sylvan Robinson’s sculptural and wearable art will be exhibited at the Patricia Sweetow Gallery in Los Angeles in March, 2023. 

Artist Statement

My contemporary fiber art intersects fashion and costume, street art and queer activism through an innovative use of textile collage and text-based art techniques. My work begins with textiles selected for elaborate patterns, reassembled into textile collages overworked with labor-intensive machine and hand-stitching, beadwork. With a background in costume design and as a performance artist, my work includes wearable art and two-dimensional works, sculptural pieces, and installation in which the question of scale is heightened by an intricate surface detail that draws the audience/viewer inwards from a larger conceptual structure. 

Education

GODDARD COLLEGE:  Plainfield, VT (2006-2008) MFA-Interdisciplinary Arts 

BENNINGTON COLLEGE:  Bennington, VT (1985 – 1989) B.A. Liberal Arts:  Drama/Dance

Professional Organizations

SURFACE DESIGN ASSOCIATION: SDA’s mission is to promote awareness for textile-inspired art and design through member-supported benefits including publications, exhibitions, and conferences. Board of Directors (appointed July, 2022) member of the Equity, Access, and Integration Committee

SOCIETY FOR EMBROIDERED WORK: International fiber artist group (member since 2020)