About the artist
photo by Kerry Ryan McFate / Courtesy PaceWildenstein, 2005
Fred Wilson was born in 1954 in the Bronx and lives in New York City today. He is a conceptual artist whose work often re-contextualizes existing art objects and cultural artifacts that portray the under-represented perspective of people of color. Frequently, his artistic practice is not making new objects but rather about using existing objects to illuminate that curatorial practice and interpretive acts such as museum labeling are subjective and open to critical examination. The process of creating Wilson's projects is as important as the end product. A large part of Wilson's creative process involves conducting community outreach and research in the cities where he produces projects. His artistic practice raises questions and spurs dialogue about heated issues such as race in a smart and sensitive way. This dialogue can be both cathartic and revolutionary for his audience.
Wilson's artwork has been shown around the world in solo and group exhibitions. While already an accomplished artist, his watershed project, "Mining the Museum: An Installation by Fred Wilson" as The Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore in 1992-1993 catapulted him into the consciousness of a much broader audience -- an audience that did not ordinarily engage with contemporary art and artists. Wilson has received numerous awards and professional recognitions including the prestigious "Genius" award from the MacArthur Foundation in 1999. He was selected to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in 2003. He is currently represented by Pace Gallery in New York.
For more information on Fred Wilson, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/wilson/index.html
http://renabranstengallery.com/WilsonF.html
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/n_9014/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n10_v81/ai_14603011
http://www.crownpoint.com/artists/wilson/about.html
Fred Wilson-Resume.pdf 454.02 KB
Fred Wilson-Press Clippings.pdf 1.61 MB
Artemis / Bast, 1992, by Fred Wilson
