VALERIE WILCOX geboren in San Diego, Studium Freie Kunst und Graphikdesign (California State University, Otis College of Art & Design und Art Center Pasadena). Lebt und arbeitet in Los Angeles. Wilcox’ Objekte basieren auf dem Wechselspiel von Licht und Schatten, von Natur und konstruierter Umwelt, und schaffen auf skulpturaler Ebene eine strukturelle Idee von Raum und Wahrnehmung. Sie trickst mit ihren Konstruktionen das Gehirn aus, das in der Natur unvereinbare Teile ganz natürlich zusammensetzt. In ihren Konstruktionen vereint Wilcox zweidimensionale Flächen mit dreidimensionalen Strukturen, Täuschung mit Wahrheit. Wilcox’s objects are based on the interplay between light and shadow; a reflection on the nature of the constructed environment that we live in and on perceptions of our own identity and how our brain works to piece together disparate components. Sculpturally there are areas that play with the structural idea of space and perception, but not necessarily the reality of it. By working between the two dimensional plane and the three dimensional structure, her constructions intend to pull you back and forth between deception and truth, belief and reality. Peter Clothier (art writer, blogger, critic) about Valerie Wilcox' works: "These three-dimensional works by Valerie Wilcox are table-top size, kind of human scale--if you think of your own rib cage. They are delicate, linear, suggesting a kind of evanescence in the spontaneity and whimsy with which the line meanders from its one end to the other, a squiggle brought to life. They seem to want to bend and squeeze, with a slightly eerie life of their own. They also work inventively with their own shadows which, when cast upon the pedestal, become the two-dimensional drawings that the lines no longer are, since they found their third dimension. Their slender, fragile quality, white as bone, can take the mind back through eons of time to the dinosaurs, making something very big and mythical and ancient out of something quite small and new. There is at the same time, in these works, a beguiling lack of sculptural pretension and a humorous creature-liness that makes them at once seductive and revealing, playfully challenging to both the eye and the inquiring mind.” Constructs In Valerie Wilcox’s “Constructs”, her works present a re-imagined understanding of our constructed environment, perceptions of our own identity and how our brain works to piece together diverse constituents. Relating to the “New Casualist” movement and with ideas that in part reference Mary Shelley’s book, “Frankenstein”, Wilcox is forming these hybrid constructions/paintings using left-over bits and pieces and humble materials that appear as if they were casually cobbled together, off-kilter and with an imperfect resolution. The visible evidence of the maker’s hand, the odd assembly and disjointed mechanics in the works reveals her process and addresses our ideals of perfection versus inherent human fallibility. Ambiguous shapes hover between a two dimensional plane and a three dimensional structure, often nuanced by the effects of light and shadow, thus playing with the idea of space and perception, but not necessarily the reality of it. Appearing as both sculpture and paintings, these “objects in space” emphasize the materials with which they were made as much as the painting. Wilcox's "Constructs" at once become referential, self-reflexive and whimsical, managing to transcend their base materiality, as her source materials are elevated and imbued with newness of form and function. Prejudice and perception, judgements and acceptance all play a part in her conversation with the viewer. Systemic Series In this sensuous and vibrant body of work, Wilcox explores the concept of biomimicry and natural and man-made systemic effects on a society, economy, body or micro-organism. These works are reflections on the nature of the common, yet complex organic and man-made systems that we live amidst and their effects on each other over time. Juxtiposing references to different biological sciences to that of economic development works on many levels in these works, and are represented in a macro and micro point of view. The shifting and undulating colors in the linear and abstracted shapes suggests a delicate and constantly changing balance between nature and man, while also showing the strength and beauty of these relationships, whether it be harmonious or conflicting. Biomimicry is the design and production of man-made materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes. Wilcox’s “Systemic Series” touches on biomimicry and how the imitation of models, systems, and elements of nature can be used for the purpose of solving complex human problems. This is as much a discussion of the environment we live in as it is about the overarching structures of society and the “self”, and how we really are all one system, whether you look at it on a macro or micro scale. Born in San Diego, CA. Currently lives in Los Angeles. Along with receiving a BFA in graphic design, Valerie Wilcox studied printmaking, painting, photography and sculpture. |
Ausstellungen | Auswahl
2015 ILLUSION, Galerie Kunstkomplex, Wuppertal, Germany 2015 KÖLNER LISTE, artfair, Cologne, Germany 2015 ADORN, Groupshow (juror: Sarah Rusin, LACE), Gallery 825, Los Angeles, USA 2015 B/W, Groupshow (juror: Laura Watts, Honor Fraser Gallery), Gallery 825, Los Angeles, USA 2014 Groupshow, Galerie Kunstkomplex, Wuppertal, Germany 2014 MAS Attack 7, Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica, USA 2014 South Bay Focus, Groushow (juror: Scott Canty, LAMAG), Torrance Art Museum 2014 I Love Maui, Art Project Paia, , Maui, HA 2014 2 Person Show, haleARTS Space, USA 2014 Open Show, Groupshow (juror: Scott Canty, LAMAG) South Bay Contemporary 2014 CULTURAL EXCAVATION, Groupexhibition, juror: Elizabeth James (Cherry and Martin), Gallery 825, Los Angeles, USA 2014 ABSTRACTIONS, Art Project Paia, Maui, Hawaii 2014 Pasadena Showcase, House of Design, USA 2014 SHAPED REALITY, Duo-Show with Michal Plata, Galerie Kunstkomplex, Wuppertal (Germany) 2014 Palo Alto Art Center, Pencils Down, installation, Jan. – April 2014 Kölner Liste, artfair, Cologne (Germany) 2013 Torrance Art Museum, South Bay Focus, juror James MacDevitt 2013 San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Fall Auction 2013 Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, 2013 Los Angeles Juried Exhibition 2013 Gallery 825/LAAA, Annual Benefit Auction 2013 Broadway Art Space, Women Make the World Go Round 2013 Gallery 825, Gleaming Apollo, juried exhibition 2012 Den Contemporary, Migratory Marks VI, *solo installation 2012 Torrance Art Museum, South Bay Focus, juror Grace Kook Anderson 2012 Gallery 825/LAAA, Marks in Motion, solo show 2012 Venice Art Walk’s Silent Art Auction, annual fundraiser 2012 Gallery 825/LAAA, VS, Michele Urton juror (Gemini G.E.L.) 2011 Gallery 825/LAAA, Open Show, Charlie Manzo juror (Gagosian N.Y.) 2011 Torrance Art Museum, South Bay Focus, juror Carl Berg 2011 Brand Library, Brand 40: Works on Paper, juror Peter Frank 2011 Flag Stop: An Alternative Contemporary Art Event, event curator, coordinator and designer “Migratory Marks” installation at Lexus & solo show in a POD 2011 OCCCA, Energy, juror Howard Fox 2011 San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, California Sculpture SLAM, juror Charles Arnoldi 2011 Venice Art Walk’s Silent Art Auction, annual fundraiser 2010 Torrance Art Museum, South Bay Focus, Tressa Williams curator 2010 Gallery 825/LAAA, Finding Feitelson, juried exhibition, juror Marie Chambers 2010 Andi Campognone Projects, The Organic Line, group show 2009 Gem, LAAA’s annual benefit fundraiser 2009 Gallery 825/LAAA, My New Country, group exhibition 2008 DCA, In The Abstract, LAX Terminal 1 (Southwest Airlines) 2008 Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, auction/exhibition 2008 Tarfest, juror Howard Fox 2008 Gallery 825/LAAA, Penumbra, juror James Panozzo 2008 LA Art Show (w/ LAAA), Los Angeles, USA 2007 Gallery 825/LAAA, Aurora, juried exhibition 2007 Celebrity Vault, LAAA fundraising art auction 2007 Gallery 825/LAAA, Go Native, juried exhibition 2007 Gallery 825/LAAA, Summer Heat, juried exhibition 2007 Angel’s Gate, Onsite at the Gate, juror Aimee Chang 2006 Gower Lofts, Holiday Show, group show, Hollywood |