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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