DAVID WILSON - AN ARTIST STATEMENT ABOUT HIS NEW WORK

David Wilson has drafted an artist statement about his new work for his forthcoming exhibition. Below he explains in his words what these new works are all about. 

It takes a little time to really understand why one does what one does. Like everything in life we just do what we need or want to with little consideration of the why. When it comes to being creative it's that much more difficult to fully comprehend what drives me forward as the desire to paint is so intrinsically ingrained into who I am that painting can almost become an unconscious action. Yet it's always a good exercise for me to think about why I do what I do while I am doing it as I believe I create a better painting as a result. 


My previous exhibitions have been process oriented, much like this one, and my meaning process in the sense that I am looking at how my work develops over a period of time with a concerted effort on my part to include my own personal thoughts and ideas into the paintings. Working with representational subject matter can at times not be conducive for that opportunity. However, in creating my most recent body of work I am consciously aware of how the subject matter (architecture, urban landscape, nature) is in a perpetual state of renewal and decay. Having experienced the fragility of life on a very personal level over the past few years this is a subject that holds a very firm grasp of my thought process as I create. Within the urban landscape the buildings, supportive infrastructure and the infusion of nature (trees, grass etc.) are indeed in a perpetual state of decay, renewal as well as maintenance, not unlike the human experience. This parallel existence is not lost to me as I work. 


This exhibition features works on canvas that offer up representations of such subjects as described above. Cityscapes of varying subject matter all representing this cycle of addition and subtraction, renewal and decay. There is a fragility to life, to existence, that I try to capture within my paintings. My deconstructed paintings (works on corrugated board) are meant to act as an extension of this process. These works are created with the same amount of care and craftsmanship as works on canvas but the work is created on what is largely considered a disposable material. This acts as a symbol or memento of that life cycle. Something that is not designed to last forever but is meant to serve a limited purpose is suddenly assigned value when paint is purposely appled to its surface. What is disposable is transformed into something precious and an effort is made to sustain its whole-ness. It's a concept I think is very similar to what it means to be human, to experience life within all it's messiness and complexities to the fullest extent possible and doing so with purpose. 



There is a certain sense of irony in these works as they are, at times, considered less valuable than works on canvas due to the archival nature of canvas. I understand that line of thought but in my mind I believe the works on corrugated board hold a similar or, at times, greater instrinsic value solely because these works are representational of something greater than the sum of their parts.  Ultimately, the works on canvas and works on corrugated board are meant to support each other and offer up what is a single creative process that is easily accessible to the viewer on many different levels.                        

DAVID WILSON, 2013


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