Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Renee Robbins

Visual Artist

“Micro Macro: Creating Wonder”

Renee Robbins is a Chicago-based visual artist who layers biomorphic forms to create detailed otherworldly environments. Robbins’ connection to water began with her birth during a flood on the Kankakee River and grew through childhood near lakes in Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan. Her love for natural history and early interest in clay animation shaped her artistic path. She has been awarded public art commissions with Chicago Public Art Group, Wabash Arts Corridor, and Illinois’ Art-In-Architecture program. She has exhibited widely, including exhibitions at Lois Lambert Gallery, Santa Monica, CA; Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago, IL; Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL; and the Alden B Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland, MI. Press features include PBS WTTW Chicago Tonight, Chicago Gallery News, Chicago Magazine, and an audio interview on Ahtcast. Honors include three grants from Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

Renee Robbins creates paintings and murals that reimagine nature into symbolic abstract ecosystems. Her goal is to evoke wonder and curiosity, using art as a bridge between individuals and their surroundings. The otherworldly creations show interconnected relationships between humans, nature, and the cosmos. Concepts move seamlessly from the micro— such as subatomic patterns or plant structures—to the macro, referencing telescopic views of the universe. Through the lenses of microscopes, magnifying glasses, cameras, and telescopes, viewers learn about unseen magic all around them. By creating associations between things that are seemingly disparate in scale and form, Robbins’ work shows the world through a new lens. This abstract space is populated with dots, circles, and hieroglyphic-like marks that symbolize different subjects. In this way, her art reflects the diverse world and the power of nature by creating a sense of wonder.