LUCY WILNER

 

STATEMENT

My work is about birds, everyday objects, ourselves and the environments we create––our stories, memories, problems. I seek to engage the viewer in open-ended narratives about universal themes and critical current issues, everything from the existential loneliness of the cosmos to our history of colonization and development. There are a wide variety of subjects in my work: Nature, yes, but also cities, furniture, text, people, politicians. Any particular image can find a place in my painting. The specificity of the images brings drama to the work and generates both recognition and surprise. The visual language I use is observational, uninflected. It draws on scientific presentation and infographics as a counterpoint to the intensely emotional subject matter. In this suggestive but never overt way, I address the burning issues of our time and suggest multivalent future possibilities.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Lucy Wilner is a lifelong artist whose work has been shown in group and solo shows nationwide and collected by both private individuals and institutions, including the Seattle Art Museum. Her most recent show “Us and Them,” focusing on birds in relation to human artifacts and environments, was presented by the New York City Parks Department at Conference House Park on Staten Island. Wilner holds BFA and MFA degrees from The University of Chicago and the University of Washington. She has had a varied career in the arts. She taught painting at Louisiana State University and wrote art criticism for Reflex magazine in Seattle. After moving to New York, she worked in publishing as a book designer for Sterling Publishing. Today, Wilner lives in Brooklyn, where she has a studio in her residence. She paints full-time, in the characteristic style of neo-surrealism that is her unique creation.