windows | Stephanie Wilde
September 10, 2020 - November 25, 2020
Crossing Art is delighted to present our opening show of the season: Stephanie Wilde: Windows. Over the course of four decades, Stephanie Wilde has made a name for herself with works of ornate and detailed imagery that make pointed statements about the world around us. Wilde is a seeker of the rarefied moments in which the visual arts transfigure facts, figures, and political rhetoric to make of them universal statements that appeal to the senses, emotion, and logic. Dealing with such themes as our shared humanity, individual dignity, and the imperiled environment, Wilde produces intricate, quilt-like illustrations that are as conscientious as they are socially conscious. Her paintings are more than just visually engrossing: they demand our attention because they make biting social commentary on our collective failures and shortcomings. Reminiscent of vibrantly ornamental illuminated manuscripts and awe-inspiring stained glass windows of lofty chapels, Wilde’s elaborately painted tapestries feel at once novel and familiar, enticing the audience to consider how history both informs and shapes our present. Each of Wilde’s compositions is a window through which to make observations about ourselves and the world.
The artist begins her work with exhaustive research supported by scientific and literary sources, while rich symbolism and historical context inform the narrative. Drawing inspiration from the things she "sees" in the world, and working with ink, acrylic, and gold leaf while combining techniques of painting and drawing, Wilde embarks on a remarkably meticulous and involved artistic process in the hopes to illuminate her observations. Indeed, woven into the intricate "fabric" of her work are overarching narratives of prejudice and injustice, humanity and society, life and the environment – reflected back to us as wildly beautiful and deeply insightful compositions that reveal difficult but important truths about ourselves and the social and political spaces that we occupy.