David Wilson
“Rain-soaked city streets evoke something entirely visceral,” Wilson says. “So often you find this in the film industry, which goes to great lengths to recreate that saturated-with-rain aesthetic—and for good reason. Those streets reflect so much of ourselves back at us. It’s like peering in a distorted mirror that reminds us of places we inhabit, both imaginary and real.”
Wilson’s 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. “There is an underlying tension in the work that exists between my application of very wet paint and the surrendering of its control as it runs down the canvas. It’s always a question as to how much control I exert upon it and how much I let it go where it wants to. In my mind, life is like water in that eventually it finds its own balance and I see that reflected in the way I like to paint.’’
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.
CV
Born 1964 in Powell River, BC, Canada
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 Water, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 Interrupting the Interface, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2016 Absence, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2015 Light and Colour, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2015 New Works, James Baird Gallery, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland
2014 Intersections, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2013 Construct/Deconstruct, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver BC
2012 New Works, Bugera Matheson Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2011 If I Could Have It All I Would Give It to You, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2010 New Works, Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2009 Somewhere in the Middle, Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2008 Transitions, Atelier Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2007 More Than Blue, Atelier Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2006 Winter, Atelier Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2005 Here and There: 100 New Works, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, BC
2005 Here and There, Aion Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2004 Illumination, Aion Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2003 Fragments, Anne Carlson Fine Art, Vancouver, BC
2000 New Works, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1999 Vancouver Landscapes, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1993 New Works, Barret-Post Contemporary Art, Vancouver, BC
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 Altered Perception, Elevation Gallery, Canmore, BC
2011 Two Artists, David Wilson and Gabryel Harrison, Agnes Bugera Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2010 Dusk/Dark: David Wilson and Ian Rawlinson, Agnes Bugera Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2009 Two Man Exhibition: David Wilson and Andre Pettersen, Wallace Gallery, Calgary, AB
2008 Dog Days of Summer, Atelier Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2008 Noctuary, Agnes Bugera Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2007 Dog Days of Summer, Atelier Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2006 Gallery Artists, Atelier Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2004 Lighten Up, Aion Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2003 Accrochage I, Aion Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2003 Artropolis 2003, Juried Selection, May-June CBC Studios, Vancouver, BC
2002 Monochrome, two-person exhibition, Anne Carlson Fine Art, Vancouver, BC
2002 The State Files, The State Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2001 Gallery Artists, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2000 Gallery Artists, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1999 Gallery Artists, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1998 Deck the Walls, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1994 Art Rental and Sales Small Painting Exhibition, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1994 Group Exhibition, Sarah Dobbs Gallery, Vancouver BC
1993 Photo Based Bits and Pieces, Summer Exhibition, Barret-Post Contemporary Art, Vancouver, BC
Also in Artist Biography Collection
Bly Kaye - Artist Biography
Bly Kaye, artist, resides on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, and writes that throughout her artistic practice… “…I have moved through many mediums… my early works used painting, drawing and printmaking. Later I incorporated weaving, paper mache and fabric based materials. About ten years ago, I began experimenting with collage and have developed techniques of working that I continue to explore today.”
Peter McFarlane - Artist Biography
