Allegory, Artist & Society

A solo exhibition by Chris Wilson

January 18 - February 21, 2022

Reception & Artist Remarks | February 10th 6-8PM

Below: Incarcerated Firefighters, acrylic & aerosol on canvas, 36 x 86 inches

“We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.”

Langston Hughes

Allegory, Artist & Society provides a broad insight of the artistic practice, vision, and range of painter and author Chris Wilson through painting, drawing, and filmmaking.

Wilson draws from art history and the inspiration from lived experiences, while paying tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jacob Lawrence, Francis Bacon, and Horace Pippin. Rich in color with text-based messages, Wilson’s paintings combine a heavy impasto of paint with, at times, very dark historical content.

Self and book taught as a visual artist, Wilson possesses a desire to contribute to the history of art through his vivid memory and gift of storytelling. After having lived in prison for nearly half of his life and now a “returned citizen” living a hyper-productive life, he has much to share and does so with generosity and candor.

Wilson is deeply invested in the creative process of transforming small, personal moments into expressive and emotional visions, while capturing frustrations of surviving the turmoil that haunts a person in a marginalized community. At the same time the artwork invites the viewer to share in an event that they most likely will never experience, giving them the opportunity to take time to consider a life that differs from their own.

Curation and Curatorial Statement by Jeffrey Kent

Artist Statement

Growing up in Washington, DC, I was surrounded by violence and despair. I watched my family and neighborhood shattered by trauma, and I lost my faith. One night when I was seventeen, defending myself, I killed a man. I was sentenced to life in prison with no hope of parole. After a long-lasting depression and two years in prison, I sat down and wrote a list of all the things I intended to accomplish, and all the steps I’d have to take to get there. I called it my Master Plan and over the next 14 years, I implemented that plan. 

In 2006, while in my late-twenties, I did the impossible: I convinced a judge to reduce my sentence and became a free man. Thirteen years later, I published a book. The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose is about how I worked my plan every day for years. My aim today is to embody and exemplify the belief that every person is capable of redemption and of doing great things.

All these experiences deeply inform my art making. For me, art is an empowering and revolutionary force—a daily spiritual practice that keeps me connected to my own personal sense of meaning. My work and stories spur radical questions of cultural suppression, personal liberation, and beating the odds with authenticity and courage. I paint vividly, favoring primary colors, which were prohibited in prison. Red, white and blue feature prominently in my work—colors that symbolize freedom, joy and black America. 

As a painter, I entered the art world through the “back door”—my route was more circuitous than most. Over the years, my life story propelled me into community development, advocacy, social justice and business. As an entrepreneur who now leads three companies, I’ve learned the value of connecting and relationships, and I’ve used that experience to build a network outside of my own art scene. In doing so, I’ve built a foundation of mentors and international collectors who encourage and nurture my career as an artist.