Laura Sharp Wilson
Gallery Affiliations: McKenzie Fine Art
Region: West
My visual language is rooted in textile design—from William
Morris’s decorative patterns and the Constructivist designs of
Vavara Stepanova to Indian palampore (bed curtains) from the
eighteenth century. The delineated renderings of Keith Haring
have influenced my flat way of working. I have imitated the way
Chris Ofili uses repeated small dots to make a space active.
Frida Kahlo, Yayoi Kusama, and Adolph Wolfi have inspired my
obsessive, crowded compositions.
There are two ways my paintings start: with a general form or with
a clear visual concept. An example of a general form would be a
gray geometric web. A recent example of a visual concept is the
layering of falling botanical forms so dense that the background
is barely visible. While working, I add a step to the one before to
allow the painting to become dense. I am rarely unable to finish a
piece; I develop it until it enters the visual forum I have invented.
Seldom does a painting look the way I might imagine. This is the
dialogue and adventure I seek.