Paula Wilson (born December 17, 1975) is an African American "mixed media" artist creating works examining women's identities through a lens of cultural history. She uses sculpture, collage, painting, installation, and printmaking methods such as silkscreen, lithography, and woodblock. In 2007 Wilson moved from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to

Carrizozo Carrizozo is a town in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat, with a population of 996 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1899, the town provided the main railroad access for Lincoln County, and the town experienced signif ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

(population 996), where she currently lives and works with her woodworking partner Mike Lagg.

Early life

Paula Wilson was born in Chicago and grew up in Hyde Park on the south side of the city, where her father,

William Julius Wilson William Julius Wilson (born December 20, 1935) is an American sociologist. He is a professor at Harvard University and author of works on urban sociology, race and class issues. Laureate of the National Medal of Science, he served as the 80th P ...

, was a professor of sociology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. Her mother, Beverly Ann Wilson, is an artist and bookbinder.

Education

Wilson attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

from 1994 to 1998, earning her B.F.A. and graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. She earned her M.F.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Life and work

Wilson is known for her monumental and tactile work describing narratives and environments that fit her experience as a biracial black woman. She reimagines art historical tropes and inserts versions of herself into the landscape and canon. Shifting between graphic and painterly representations, she builds narratives by collapsing pictorial planes. Wilson’s work is anchored in

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

, installation, and

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

. She prints images with wood blocks, silkscreens, intaglio, and

monotypes Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The i ...

; layers acrylic, oil, and spray paint; shoots videos inserting 2-D work into the landscape; she cuts, glues, and stitches to make colorful, dense assemblages. Her works often burst from their wall or frame, reflecting a constant re-assembly of lived experiences: black and white, urban and rural, traditional and contemporary, singular and collective. Wilson is co-founder of the artist organizations MoMAZoZo (founded in 2010) and the Carrizozo Artist in Residency (AIR)(founded in 2016).

Academia

Wilson was a Visiting Critic at Yale School of Art from 2005 to 2007 and an assistant professor at

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts, (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, ...

from 2007 to 2008. In 2015. she served as the Louis D. Beaumont Artist-in-Residence & Visiting Assistant Professor in the College and Graduate School of Art in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at

. She has been a visiting artist at many institutions and universities nationally. * Visiting Artist,

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, Oberlin, Ohio, 2020 * Visiting Artists, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 2020 * Visiting Lecturer, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2017 * Visiting Lecturer,

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

, Brooklyn, New York, 2017 * Visiting Artist,

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, Boston, Massachusetts, 2016

Solo exhibitions

* 2000–"What's So Personal," The Butcher Shop, Chicago, Illinois * 2006–"Paintings and Drawings from the Hanno Valley," Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milan, Italy * 2008–"The Stained Glass Ceiling,"

Bellwether Gallery Bellwether Gallery was a New York City art gallery based in Chelsea. Director and owner Becky Smith was recognized as an important promoter of emerging artists since the gallery's 1999 opening in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.Genocchio, ...

, New York, New York * 2010–"First Story," The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * 2014–"Undress," Center for Contemporary Arts, Spector Ripps Project Space, Santa Fe, New Mexico * 2015–"Back it Up," Museum Blue, St. Louis, Missouri * 2015–"Salty & Fresh," Cherry & Lucic, Portland, Oregon * 2017–"Salty & Fresh,"

Emerson Dorsch Gallery The Emerson Dorsch Gallery, founded in 1991 as the Dorsch Gallery, is an art gallery in Miami, Florida, United States founded by Brook Dorsch. Initially located in Dorsch's 2nd story apartment over Parkway Drugs on Coral Way, the gallery featured ...

, Miami, Florida * 2017–"Paula Wilson:The Backward Glance," Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, Nebraska * 2018–"FLOORED," HOLDING Contemporary, Portland, Oregon * 2018–"PIECESCAPE," Visitor Welcome Center, Los Angeles, California * 2018–"Spread Wild: Pleasures of the Yucca,"

Smack Mellon Smack Mellon is a non-profit arts organization located at 92 Plymouth Street, in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Smack Mellon supports emerging, under-recognized mid-career, and women artists through a highly regarded exhibition program, competitive studio re ...

, Brooklyn, New York * 2018–"The Light Becomes You," Denny Dimin Gallery, New York, New York * 2019–"Entangled," 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, New Mexico * 2022–"Be Wild. Bewilder,"

, Miami, Florida

Selected group exhibitions

* 2019–"Contemporary Performance," curated by

Kalup Linzy Kalup Linzy (born July 23, 1977) is an American video and performance artist who currently lives and works in Tulsa, OK. His performance are characterized by their low-tech quality, themes of community, socializing, family, the church, sexuality a ...

, Florida Museum of Photographic Art, Tampa, Florida * 2019–"Fragment,"

, Miami, Florida * 2019–"In This Body of Mine: Strange Fire Collective at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design," Milwaukee, Wisconsin * 2019–"20 and Odd: The 400-Year Anniversary of 1619," curated by Kalia Brooks Nelson, Leroy Neiman Gallery,

, New York, New York * 2017–"Sunrise, Sunset,"

, Miami, Florida * 2017–"The Unhomely," Denny Gallery, New York, New York * 2017–"The Young Years, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

," curated by Dayton Director Ian Berry, Saratoga Springs, New York * 2016–"Surface Area: Selections from the Permanent Collection,"

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

, New York, New York * 2016–"Residency," form & concept, Santa Fe, New Mexico * 2016–"Visions Into Infinite Archives," SOMArts Cultural Center, curated by Black Salt Collective, San Francisco, California * 2015–DRAW: Mapping Madness, Inside – Out Art Museum, curated by Tomas Vu, Beijing, China 2014 * 2013–"I Am The Magic Hand," Sikkema Jenkins & Co, Organized by

Josephine Halvorson Josephine Halvorson (born 1981) is an American contemporary painter, sculptor, and print maker based in Massachusetts. She is best known for her on-site paintings, drawing from scenes of the natural world and everyday life. Her work bends material ...

, New York, New York * 2013– "Sanctify," Vincent Price Museum, Los Angeles, California * 2012–"The Bearden Project,"

, New York, New York * 2012–"Configured," Benrimon Contemporary, Curated By Teka Selman, New York, New York * 2011–"Art by Choice,"

Mississippi Museum of Art The Mississippi Museum of Art is a public museum in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the largest museum in Mississippi. Location It is located at the corner of 380 South Lamar Street and 201 East Pascagoula Street in Jackson, Mississippi.Lee Ellis, ''F ...

, Jackson, Mississippi * 2011–"The February Show," Ogilvy & Mather, New York, New York * 2010–"Art on Paper: The 41st Exhibition,"

Weatherspoon Art Museum The Weatherspoon Art Museum is located at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in the southeast with a focus on American art. Its programming includes fifteen or more e ...

, Greensboro, North Carolina * 2010–"Defrosted: A Life of Walt Disney," Postmasters Gallery, New York, New York * 2010–"41st Collectors Show," Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas * 2009–"Carrizozo Artist’s Show," Gallery 408, Carrizozo, New Mexico * 2009–"While We Were Away," Sragow Gallery, New York, New York * 2009–"A Decade of Contemporary American Printmaking: 1999–2009," Tsingha University, Beijing, China * 2009–"Collected. Propositions on the Permanent Collection,"

, New York, New York * 2009–"Cinema Remixed and Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970," Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, Texas * 2007–"Cinema Remixed and Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970,"

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art is a museum located on the Spelman College campus in Atlanta. The museum is housed in the Camille O. Hanks Cosby Academic Center named after philanthropist Camille Cosby, who had two daughters attend Spelman ...

, Atlanta, Georgia * 2007–"Horizon," EFA Gallery, Curated by David Humphrey, New York, New York * 2007–"Black Alphabet, contexts of Contemporary African American Art," Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland * 2006–"Turn the Beat Around," Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, New York * 2006–"The Manhattan Project," Fred Snitzer Gallery, Miami, Florida * 2006–"Frequency,"

, New York, New York * 2005–"MFA Thesis Exhibition," Studebaker Building, Curated by Jeffrey Uslip, New York, New York * 2005–"Recess: Images & Objects in Formation," Rush Gallery, Curated by Derek Adams, New York, New York * 2004–"Past Perfect," Kantor/Feuer Gallery, New York, New York * 2004–"After Goya," Leroy Neiman Gallery,

, Curated by Tomas Vu Daniel, New York, New York * 2004–"Hungry Eyes, First Year MFA Exhibition," Columbia University, Ira D. Wallach Gallery, New York, New York * 2002–"Signs," Public Art Installation, Chicago, Illinois * 2001–"Brat(Wurst): A Show of Chicago Artists,"

Vox Populi ( )Vox Populi
. Oxford Diction ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * 2000–"Young Love," Mapreed Gallery, Los Angeles, California

Personal life

Wilson currently lives and works in

Carrizozo, New Mexico Carrizozo is a town in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat, with a population of 996 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1899, the town provided the main railroad access for Lincoln County, and the town experienced signif ...

with her partner, woodworker Mike Lagg.

Recognition

Wilson has been featured in publications such as

Hyperallergic ''Hyperallergic'' is an online arts magazine, based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded by the art critic Hrag Vartanian and his husband Veken Gueyikian in October 2009, the site describes itself as a "forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking ...

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,'' '' The Brooklyn Rail,'' and

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

. Wilson received the Award of Distinction from Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, in St. Louis in 2019. She has been awarded residencies at the Fabric Workshop and Museum (2009–2010), Vermont Studio Center, and the Giverny Residency from the

Art Production Fund Art Production Fund (APF) is a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code that presents public art throughout the United States. It was founded in 2000 by Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen. it is directed by Casey ...

in Giverny,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. She has also received a place on the

short list A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

, Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize,

, 2007 and the Milovich Award in Painting, School of Art, Washington University, 1998.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Paula American multimedia artists 1975 births Living people African-American contemporary artists African-American women artists American contemporary artists American women printmakers Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni Artists from Chicago Artists from Illinois 21st-century American printmakers 21st-century American women artists People from Lincoln County, New Mexico African-American printmakers