Wilsonâs practice utilizes representational subjects as a jumping off point to explore the abstractions found within his compositions. Brushes, scrapers, rags, pencils, crayons, spray cans and various other mark making tools are used to apply a variety of mediums to either canvas or board. Each painting comprises numerous layers that may or may not eliminate evidence of preceding layers.
Wilson combined his painting skills with studies at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, BC and works full time at his studio in East Vancouver. Over the past 15 years his work has been collected both nationally and internationally through an extensive exhibition history of both solo and group exhibitions.
"Water, or fluidity, is a pervasive theme that runs through so much of my work. I live in the Pacific Northwest, an area renowned for the unenviable amount of rain that falls each year. To live here one often develops a love-hate relationship with this sort of weather and an unavoidable connection to water. And inevitably this overabundance of rain informs much of the work I create."
In spite of its possible negative connotations, there is a universal appeal to rain soaked city streets that evokes something entirely visceral. So often you will find this in the film industry which goes to great lengths to recreate that saturated with-rain aesthetic for good reason. Those rain slicked city streets reflect so much of ourselves back at us itâs like peering in a distorted mirror reminding us of those places we inhabit that are both imaginary and real.
Throughout my work, water is implicitly identified either through subject or in the way the paint lies on the surface. It becomes an out of control kaleidoscope of light and colour infused with what we know and what we think we know, or remember.
"Memory is elusive. I like to think of these paintings in terms of layers of memory lying one over top of the other in such a way that they eventually resemble something recognizable. Whether it is true or not, it doesnât really matter so long as it speaks to a collective understanding, or recognition, of what is seen."
