January 9 – March 16, 2018
“Talk Story”, Solo Exhibition
Artist Talk & Closing Reception March 14 @ 4-6pm
CN Gorman Museum
1316 Hart Hall
Universtiy of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616 www.gormanmuseum.ucdavis.edu
Holly Wilson (Delaware Nation/Cherokee) is a contemporary multi-media artist. She uses the figure as a vehicle to lure the viewer into her stories. Story by story we learn more about the artist, about ourselves, about the ties that bind and the threads that weave together stories to reveal a larger cultural narrative and identity. She tells stories that are sacred and precious, personal and universal, powerful and at times volatile.
The exhibition features new and recent multi-media works in sculpture, installation, and photography.
The accompanying catalog includes essays by Jennifer C. Vigil and heather ahtone and illustrates all the works in the exhibition.
October 19 - November 22, 2017
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 19, 2017, 5:00 - 8:00pm
M.A. Doran Gallery
3509 S. Peoria Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74105
918.748.8700
www.madorangallery.comRead more
“A View From Within Under The Skin” and 7 Photographs
21c Museum Hotels Oklahoma City 900 W Main St, Oklahoma City, OK 73106
August 2017 – Febuary 12, 2018
The way we see others and how one is seen has been a subject that I have had in my life since I was small. I am both Native American and Caucasian, but growing up I felt more times than I care to count that I was not enough of one or the other and that pull made me question all parts of myself. If I did not look like _____ could I be ______? Where did I fit if I was not a part of this or that group? I have had conversations with many that are from other races and that too was a struggle as well. Is my skin too dark or not dark enough, the texture of my hair or the accent that I speak with. All of this history, this past came to a head one day while getting my children ready for school we were pulling together pencils, folders, colored pencils, and crayons. They had to have 4 sets of 24 crayons each and we had leftovers from sets of the past years, some colors had never been used, and we were combining them together so we’d know how many new boxes would be required. The kids were talking about their friends at the new school and friends of their past school. In the conversation, they were describing the children “the girl with the yellow hair, the boy with the brown skin”, in a very casual descriptive manner with no malice to the differences. This made me think more about how we see people and how one is judged. The smell of the crayons, the vivid colors, and the thoughts of my youth brought me to this crayon project. How we change in our viewpoints of people, and how we judge people based on race and color. We are all one below that surface, that surface of skin, no matter the color, the shape, or the origin.
There are 12 girls and each girl is made in all the 24 colors in a Crayola Crayon box making a total 288 girls. I think if we could see ourselves as all the colors in the crayon box in all the shades we would be kinder we would be able to feel if just for a moment another’s life and our world could change in such a way that kids don’t worry about if they are too light or too dark or if their hair is the right texture to belong.
HERE Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 36″ x 24″
AWAKENING Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 24″ x 36″
IN SONG Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 24″ x 36″
LET GO Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 36″ x 24″
BACK Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 24″ x 36″
AS THEY SLEEP Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 24″ x 36″
THE STRONG Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/8″ plexi with museum mount 24″ x 36″
ER Archival Color Photograph mounted on 1/4″ plexi with museum mount 36″ x 24″
A View From Within Under The Skin by Holly WilsonA View From Within Under The Skin by Holly WilsonA View From Within Under The Skin – Detail by Holly Wilson
It is the stories of family, history, and identity that brought me to “Bloodline”. It is a long trail of my Native American history, my bloodline. To be ‘on the Rolls’ as an American Indian you must prove a quantum of blood verified through birth and death records until you match up to a name on the official “Dawes Rolls.” As I began walking through the past to document my blood, with the names and some faces, I wanted to hear them speak and tell their story. I wanted them to be counted.
The figures walk across a Locust tree base that came down in a storm. It is cut lengthwise exposing the rough center revealing the lines that show its life and history. I de-barked the exterior but kept the curve of the tree and its raw surface. You see the figures walking through time—their life above and the tree’s life below.
The Cigar Figures come from a childhood Native American story that my mother told of the “Stick People.” The “Stick People” would run through the night and call your name; if you went with them, you were never heard from again. She never described the figures and I was always drawn to the idea of what they looked like. The Cigar Figures are my reimagining of that story, now a story of family and my past—a complicated narrative of loss, survival, and resilience. The figures are made from real cigars and found sticks cast in bronze. The faces are the ancestors from my past as far back as I can trace.
There are sections for each generation, beginning with my children. Though I only have two, there are five figures. Each life is counted and the children who did not survive are remembered with a place on the wood in history; their forms small and their heads bowed. Next, I have my section with my sisters and brother followed by my mother’s and father’s history weaving back and forth. When hung, the light casts a shadow of the figures on the wall. This shadow represents memory for me. Like a shadow, these memories cannot be held, and in the end, we are all only a shadow in history, shadows on this earth.
BLOODLINE
Bronze, Patina and Locust Wood
29″ x 22′ x 9″, 2015
$120,000
August 21 – December 8, 2017
Fine Art Museum
John W. Bardo Fine & Performing Arts Center,
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723
828.227.7211 www.wcu.edu
January-May, 2018 (exact dates TBD) Museum of the Southeast American Indian
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Pembroke, North Carolina www.uncp.edu
Gathering-Detail-Holly Wilson
GATHERING
Bronze, Patina and Locust Wood
28” x 16.5” x 5.5”, 2015
When I was young we lived on a mountain in Cherokee, NC, my father taught at the Indian School for several years. My memories have no words from that time just images, some of running the woods, others of going up and down the winding stairs to go to school. The “Gathering” is my interpretation of that part of my life; my coming home to the place and to the people I am a part of.
The wood is from a Locust tree. It is cut lengthwise; it exposes the rough center of the tree and the lines, the lines of the tree show its history. This wood is cut on the angle to be the mountain I lived upon, and the mountain we all climb during life.
When “Gathering” is hung the light cast’s shadows of the figures on the wall, these shadows represent for me memories. Memories cannot be held they have no words, and in the end, we are all only a shadow in history, shadows on this earth.
I used my Cigar Figures to represent my family in “Gathering”. These figures come from a Native American story of my childhood that my mother told of the “Stick People”. The “Stick People” would run through the night and call your name, she never described the figures and I was drawn to the idea of what they looked like for most of my life. The Cigar Figures are my reimagining of that story, now a story of family and my past. The figures are made of real cigars and found sticks. I create molds of the cigars and then cast them and the sticks in bronze. The faces are of the people from my past and my present.
February 2, 2017 – February 21, 2017
Bonner David Galleries
7040 E. Main Street
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
480.941.8500
www.bonnerdavid.com
Opening Reception: Thursday February 2nd, 7-9pm
Read more
I am so pleased to be a part of this beautiful biennial Four by Four 2016: Midwest Invitational Exhibition. The Museum spotlighted one artist from four different states and I was honored to have been chosen for the state of Oklahoma. The exhibition is in its final weeks so I do hope if you have not had an opportunity to see the show that you find time. I have included the work that is apart of the exibition below.
WE NEED A HERO
Bronze and Patina
10′ x 12′ x 8.5″, 2015
This boy stands tall ready to defend his world. The airplanes representing his messages are going out into the world. These messages both large and small, some will survive and some will not go very far. The bombs represent messages that are incoming from both people and society on a daily basis. The blue bombs are just for practice and have no explosives while the white ones with a yellow ring indicates that they are highly explosive and may cause much destruction.
While getting my children ready for school last fall we were pulling together pencils, folders, colored pencils and crayons. They had to have 4 sets of 24 crayons each and we had leftovers from sets of the past years, some colors had never been used, and we were combining them together so we’d know how many new boxes would be required. The kids were talking about their friends at the new school and friends of their past school. In the conversation they were describing the children “the girl with the yellow hair, the boy with the brown skin”, in a very causal descriptive manner with no malice to the differences. This made me think more on how we see people and how one is judged. The smell of the crayons, the vivid colors, and the thoughts of my youth brought me to this crayon project. How we change in our viewpoints of people, and how we judge people based on race and color. We are all one below that surface, that surface of skin, no matter the color, the shape, or the origin.
Bronze, Patina and Locust Wood
29″ x 22′ x 9″, 2015
It is the stories of family; history and identity that are what brought me to the piece “Bloodline”. It is a 22-foot long trail of history; where I came from as far back as I could trace my Native American bloodline to date. To be “on the Rolls” as an American Indian you have to prove a quantum of blood and trace that back through birth and death records until you match up to a name on the official “Dawes Rolls”. As I began walking backwards through the past to prove my blood, with the names and some faces I wanted to hear them speak and tell their story. I wanted them to be counted.
A storm took an old Locust tree down and that is the base for the figures to walk across. The tree is cut lengthwise so it exposes the rough center of the tree and the lines, the lines of the tree to show its history. I de-barked the exterior but kept the curve of the tree and its raw surface. The curve is mounted to the wall; the figures stand upon the top outer edge.
There are sections for each generation. The beginning section is with my own children. Though I only have 2 there are 5 figures. Each life is counted and the children that did not survive are remembered with a place on the wood in history their forms small and their heads bowed. From that I have my own section with my sisters and brother and then weave back and forth between my mother and fathers history. When hung the light casts a shadow of the figures on the wall, this shadow cast on the wall represents for me memory. Like a shadow these memories cannot be held, and in the end we are all only a shadow in history, shadows on this earth.
The Cigar Figures come from a Native American story of my childhood that my mother told of the “Stick People”. The “Stick People” would run through the night and call your name, she never described the figures and I was drawn to the idea of what they looked like for most of my life. The Cigar Figures are my reimagining of that story, now a story of family and my past. The figures are made of real cigars and found sticks. I create molds of the cigars and then cast them and the sticks in bronze. The faces are of the people from my past as far back as I can trace.
How much is enough? If one is good today then 100 is better, we are overwhelmed by what we have yet we want for more. This girl stands atop of boxes of sugary cupcakes that are nothing more that empty, hollow treats.
