Artist statement
My art emerges from within. Although I combine various medium, the pencil and paper is what I use to lay the foundation of my work. These two basic resources are what bond human and cultural traditions. I feel a very intimate connection to these fundamental substances. The historical radiation of these materials ground me in the resources of the past, however, I am not opposed to using any material that will allow me to reveal the ideas I am exploring. With that said, I am drawn more to substance than style, and create variations through structure rather than ornament.
I enjoy depicting myself, friends, neighbors, strangers, girlfriends, and family members with common things that are easily charged with metaphoric references. Things such as, skulls, wings, birds, snakes, flowers and the human figure permeate my work. Any of these images can be visualized as a link to the state of mind or the human condition.
I also feel that the creative process is idea driven, and that content is as important as form. Content doesn’t necessarily mean a verbal narrative is present, but that the visual presence produced by the arrangement and selection of objects, images, and materials create its own unique form of meaning. The combination of painting, drawing, shaping, and layering my images on plastic has also intrigued me. By mixing these four in my assemblage, I feel one force enhances the other. The image-collage, painting, or drawing stops being just an illusion. It unifies, and becomes part of the assembly within that box.
Delford T. Wilson |