The New York Times described Robert Wilson as “a towering figure in the world of experimental theatre and an explorer in the uses of time and space onstage”. Transcending theatrical convention, he draws in other performance and graphic arts, which coalesce into an integrated tapestry of images and sounds. Wilson’s numerous awards and honours have included the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for Lifetime Achievement, the Golden Lion for Sculpture of the Venice Biennale, the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Smithsonian Institution, and election to the American Academy of Arts and letters.

Born in Waco, Texas, Wilson was educated at the University of Texas and at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute. He studied painting with George McNeil in Paris and later worked with the architect Paolo Solari in Arizona. Moving to New York City in the mid-1960s, Wilson found himself drawn to the work of pioneering choreographers George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, and Martha Graham, among other artists. Wilson went on to present numerous acclaimed productions throughout the world, including the seven-day play KA MOUNTain and GUARDenia Terrace in Shiraz, Iran in 1972; The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin, a twelve-hour silent opera performed in 1973 in New York, Europe, and South America; and A Letter for Queen Victoria in Europe and New York in 1974-1975. In 1976 Wilson joined with composer Philip Glass in writing the landmark work Einstein on the Beach, which was presented at the Festival d’Avignon and at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, and has since been revived in two world tours in 1984 and 1992.

Over the last two decades Wilson has brought his creativity to the dramatic and operatic repertoire, producing work at major European theatres and opera houses and collaborating with a number of internationally acclaimed artists, writers, and musicians.

A recipient of two Rockefeller and two Guggenheim fellowships, Wilson has been honoured with numerous awards.

While known for creating highly acclaimed theatrical pieces, Wilson’s work is firmly rooted in the fine arts. His drawings, paintings and sculptures have been presented around the world in hundreds of solo and group showings.

Each summer Wilson hosts students and creative professionals from around the world at the International Summer Arts Program at the Watermill Center in eastern Long Island – an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities. Following a successful capital campaign, construction of a permanent facility is underway and is expected to be dedicated in the summer of 2006.

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