2013, 9.5” x 3.5” x 9.5”, Unique Cast Bronze with Patina, and African Mahogany
In so many things there is a thin line that on one side you are in complete joy and the other complete devastation. The space between the two emotions seemed like it should be so much farther apart from one another than it truly is.
2018, 36″ x 24″ x 4.5″, Crayola Crayon, Plex Glass, Birch Panel
When I close my eyes and dream I do not see the color of my skin or limitations that have been placed upon me because of who I am or where I come from, I dream of all the possibilities of all the amazing things I can achieve.
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 the skin, no matter the color, the shape, or the origin.
I think if we could see ourselves as all the colors in the crayon box in all the shades, we could 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 children would not worry about if they are too light or too dark to belong. We are more than a classification in terms of a position between two extremes, I see the light within us all and the variations that make each of us, we are all the colors and an untold number of possibilities.
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 nationalities, and they too have struggled. Is my skin too dark or not dark enough, the texture of my hair or the accent that one hears when I speak? All this history, this past came to a head one day while getting my children ready for school we were pulling together pencils, colored pencils, folders, 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 a big laugh, she has yellow hair or the boy I ate lunch with, he was a helper, and he told the funniest stories”, in a very casual descriptive manner with no malice or notice 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, color. We are all one below that surface, that surface of skin, no matter the color, the shape, or the origin.
12 girls and each girl are made from 12 colors in a Crayola Crayon box making a total of 144 girls.
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For inquiries, please contact:
BONNER DAVID GALLERIES
22 E. 81 ST | New York City, New York 10028 | 929.226.7800 | www.bdgartboutique.com
7040 E. Main Street | Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 | 480.941.8500 | www.BonnerDavid.com
Exhibition History
Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Pl, Oklahoma City, OK 73111 (November 9th, 2018 – Aug 4, 2019)
Holly Wilson: Talk Story, C.N. Gorman Museum, University of California-Davis (January 9-March 16, 2018)
Under Our SkinUnder Our Skin
Under Our Skin and Spectrums Within Under Our Skin
2018, 8”x4”x4″ and 6”x4″x4″, Unique Cast Bronze with Patina and Geode Rock
We strive for human attachment and belonging whether in a place or a sense of self. This boy and girl are not 2 people but oneself, 2 halves of a whole. The geode can reflect the same and when broken open it reveals its sides and secrets hidden within. The figures are not glued to the rock, they are fitted, like a key in a lock. They balance in their stand much like we do in our life.
2018, 36”x 24”x 4.5”, Crayon, Plexiglas, and Birch
The Bear Girls do not see the color of each other’s skin or limitations that have been placed upon them because of who they are or where they come from. They are in this world together and the possibilities are endless.
While getting my children ready for school we were pulling together pencils, folders, colored pencils, and crayons. The kids began talking about their friends. In the conversation, they were describing the children, “the girl with the yellow hair, the boy with the brown skin,” in a very casually descriptive manner with no malice to the differences. This made me think more about how we see people as we grow older. How we change in our viewpoints and how we judge based on what we see on the surface. We are all the same below, no matter the color, shape, or origin.
2015, 10.5” x 14.5” x 12.5”, Unique Cast Bronze with Patina
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 boxes of sugary cupcakes that are nothing more than empty, hollow treats.
In the Collection of: Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
Exhibition History
Four by Four 2016: Midwest Invitational Exhibition, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri (September 10 – December 4, 2016)
Conversations: Eiteljorg Native Art Fellowship, Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis IN (November 14, 2015-February 14, 2016)
Back Left: “Inside-Outside” by Mario Martinez” .Middle: “Secrets are Burdens”, Front: “Enough” by Holly Wilson. Right Front: “It’s Probably Magic”, Right Middle 1 & 2 “Ancestral Realms II”, “Unveiled Universe” by Mario Martinez. Back Right: “Interrupted Forms #2” by Brenda Mallory. At the Exhibition Conversations: Eiteljorg Museum 2015 Contemporary Art Fellowship.
Mothers often act as a balancing force in our world. This figure acts as an archetype of all mothers. She sits balanced upon a piece of poplar wood. Her position seems precarious but is secure and necessary, creation of equilibrium.
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For inquiries, please contact: MA Doran Gallery
3509 S. Peoria Avenue | Tulsa, OK 74105 | 918.748.8700
Exhibition History
On Turtle’s Back, Museum of Contemporary Native Art, Santa Fe NM (May 25 2018-January 27, 2019)
Holly Wilson: Talk Story, C.N. Gorman Museum, University of California-Davis (January 9-March 16, 2018)
SFA Alumni Exhibition, The Cole Art Center, Nacogdoches, Texas (October 27, 2016 –January 14, 2017)
Conversations: Eiteljorg Native Art Fellowship, Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis IN (November 14, 2015-February 14, 2016)
2014, 9.5″ x 10″ x 6″, Unique Cast Bronze with Patina, and Geode Rock
“Belonging” we are always looking for that feeling of belonging that sense of a key in a lock. The geode I broke open revealing two sides. Here I have a boy and a girl, I see them as masculine and feminine in us all. The figures here are fitted to that geode when they are still in wax; they are not glued they are keyed to the rock that they belong, two sides of the self two halves of a whole.
