Wilmer Wilson IV
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Wilmer Wilson IV | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) Richmond, VA |
| Alma mater | Howard University, University of Pennsylvania |
| Known for | Performance Art |
Wilmer Wilson IV (born 1989) is an American artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who works in performance, photography, sculpture, and other media.[1] Although typically identified as a performance artist, Wilson also works with sculpture[2] and photography.[3]
Wilson was born in Richmond, Virginia.[1] He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Howard University in 2012 and later his Master of Fine Arts from the Weitzman School of Design[4] at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015.[5]
Awards
Wilson's work has been exhibited widely in the U.S.[6][7][8][9] and Europe in galleries, art fairs[9][10] and museums.[7][11] Wilson has been the recipient of a Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship[12] and an American Academy in Rome Fellowship.[12]
He has also been awarded several public art and museum[11] commissions including the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (5x5 Public Art Commission)[13] and a Films4Peace Commission.[14] Additionally, Wilson's work and performances have been presented at The New Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia; New Orleans Museum of Art; Birmingham Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; American University Museum; The National Portrait Gallery; and, the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres, Belgium.[1] His work is housed in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; New Orleans Museum of Art; Birmingham Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; The Phillips Collections; West Collection, Oaks, Pennsylvania; and, the 21C Museum-Hotel, Louisville, KY.[1] as well as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA.
Press
Wilson has been reviewed[5][15] in multiple American and European newspapers and art magazines.[5][16][17] In 2018 American art critic Holland Cotter described Wilson's work as "gorgeous" in a review for The New York Times.[8] The Chicago Tribune has described Wilson as "a material and performance artist focused on ephemera and race."[9] In a 2015 essay, essay, Hannah McShea posited that the artist's performances are "ahead of his time and still a member of a long lineage."[18] The New York Times noted in 2018 that "[i]n his mixed-media work and live performances, Mr. Wilson investigates 'the way that blackness is represented in the city space,' he said—specifically the treatment of black bodies as objects of labor or desire, and the ever-present threat of violence."[7]
