andrew wilson

ANDREW WILSON

Oakland, CA

The balance between art, care and craft exists at the center of Andrew Wilson’s art. Inspired by his mother’s and grandmother’s sewing practice, his fabric-based work straddles the boundaries of craft and fine art; utilitarian objects and installation; or fashion and performance. His practice of slow craft, “amplifies and transports the viewer through care. It is the way I peer into the archive and interrogate the histories that shape the fabric of Blackness.”

The forms created by Wilson are also utilitarian. A reflection of wearable objects, his capes, crowns, and quilts either refer to usable objects or worn in his performance work. The question of use, both domestic and ritual, for forms and objects are central to his work. The power of these objects comes with human use. Physical and cultural energy becomes ingrained into these objects through use or shared meaning. This is where the power of the past and present unify, making space for the artists to connect us to the present and past.

This relationship between past and present is important in And We Went. Past trauma and social policy, as well as the Black community’s ability to respond is a through line in the American experience. The power and audacity of creating Brooks pool is mirrored by the self-definition and power and defiance in I Knew that Myth. #FRUIT has multiple meanings -- a slur as well as a recognition of the history of lynching (strange fruit). Wilson contrasts this negative connotation with a form that makes the wearer a superhero, paralleling Pearl George, Betty Claiborne, and Rev. Arthur Jelks taking on segregation in Baton Rouge and becoming heroes in the community.

Works on view