ED WILSON AMERICAN SCULPTOR
1990 -2009
The Art of Ed Wilson
By Michael Roque Collins
The work of Ed Wilson is steeped with the juices of belief. Unfettered by solely commercial or esthetic criteria, his work plumbs the soul through honest reflection of his individual beliefs. His work connects central themes of faith and fear through spiritual longings and contemplates the use of power in the world. Wilson’s sculptures possess metaphysical aspects such as machinery of war and its impact on nature.
It is relatively easy for an artist to find his truth, though much more difficult to defend and cultivate one’s own territory of conceptual belief. Wilson is at the center of global creative currents reflecting religious, political, environmental and cultural fractures so evident in our splenetic world. Peter Plagens, noted art critic, once stated that, “…artists, like the rest of the population, also pay subconscious attention to the culture as a whole. They know, at some level, about the momentum that’s going from antiquarianism to barbarism.” Wilson clearly reflects this momentum. This shift is evidenced in his use of humor, brutality of fact, honesty, and spirituality. When reflecting on the power and originality possessed by this artist, the political and the absurd nature of violence are illuminated. In his creative oeuvre we see our own fears for the misuse of power as well as the manifested results in our surrounding world
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In a time where so many art trends reflect “high art esthetics,” where process becomes content, the work of Ed Wilson is refreshing because he combines excellence of process in collaboration with art about the human experience. This artist has developed his techniques to the limits of technical perfection. The subject matter, however, is rooted in internal and spiritual forms. These subjects question the very nature of our rituals relating to faith and to cultural power. His works questions the abuse of power in our society and investigates globally rooted power aspirations. This artist´s work possesses quixotic sub themes which are often balanced with rye humor and sublimely quirky figuration. As we find ourselves surrounded daily by brutal global aggression his work becomes even more timely and as a prescient reminder of our need for respecting humanity and fostering individual spirituality.
Ed Wilson’s works are rich with delicate patinas of grey and subtle colors underscoring the somber nature of his thinking expressed powerfully through his sculptures. There exists a sense of potential menace and a price to be paid for our shared cultural greed. As with the works of Otto Dix, a certain powerful grotesquery exists in his works. Wilson’s use of a surrealistic sense of space and form commingle to foster a mysteriously metaphysical presence in his bias relief’s and large sculpture. Perspective is distorted in his shallow relief landscapes further isolating the viewer in city spaces emptied of the human presence. There exists a horrible beauty in his subject that is contrasted by the elegance of his precise and well crafter process. His sculptures invite and repel with the power of suggestion and the horror of a darker presence of humanity. Even in their playful appearance there lies a connection to the turret and blade of conflict so prevalent today in our global conflicts. Wilson states that “As much as I am attracted to the idea, I am also impassioned by the sheer beauty of the metal and cast surface. To move the materials towards the most beautiful conclusion possible is an urgent goal in all of my works.” As one moves through this array remember that some of these small sculptural maquets stand for the many large wall and room sized works. With this scale shift in mind one begins to feel and sense a mystery possible in his art.
In closing, the work of Ed Wilson stands as an impassioned reminder to the value of both heartfelt content and masterfully resolved process in a work of art. The truth of his voice has been protected over time through the love, gestation and perseverance so vital for all artists. The fruit of focused and intelligent repetition has developed honesty of vision and curiosity through purpose. This artist´s work stands as an exclamation for the vital sense of belief so missing in a large part of recent contemporary art. His works are stunning examples of the process and content existing in soulistic harmony beyond the banality of erasure. Their works stand in heroic opposition to the shallowness of art found to reflect only the means of its process and not the soul of the maker.
