https://www.bexwilkinson.com/about-1
Artist Bio
Bex Wilkinson’s formal art education began at The Art Institute of Chicago, continued at Pitzer College in California, and moved coasts to Sarah Lawrence College in New York where she received her BA. It was at Sarah Lawrence that she had access to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art, enabling her to study the artists’ work she admired in person while sketching and drawing for hours.
As Bex grew into her creative identity her subject matter and medium choice began to take shape. Drawing inspiration from an idealization of Frida Khalo and the art coming out of the German Expressionist era, Wilkinson focused her subject matter on the undercurrents of society. Using large scale format and a mixed media application, Wilkinson creates vibrant art that is leading in regards to the viewers interpretation.
Post education, Bex dedicated herself to raising her children, working in film production and entrepreneurial endeavors. Following a major life event in 2016, Bex found herself returning to her life as a painter in order to work through the emotions and trauma that ensued. This embarkation led her to dedicating herself thoroughly to her creative expression resulting in the body of work exhibited today.
Currently, Bex shows in galleries around the globe and works from her studio in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Artist Statement
Bex’s background with grief led her to create works that probe what lies deeper within the human psyche. The early loss of her art enthusiast father and the suicide of her spouse in 2016 awakened a dormant need to create. Bex returned that same year to explore both her grief and the uncomfortable topics of contemporary society and its downfalls after 20 years of not painting.
Delving into her subconscious, Bex channels what weighs on the collective unconscious. Often the subjects of her works emerge as archetypes labeled from Jungian psychology. The symbols of the mandala, the crucifix, and skeleton iconography often appear in her work to guide the viewer into what she sees as the unending cycle of karma and suffering. Her work frequently infuses humorous collaged elements of modern society which describe the circus in which humanity engages in the face of death. Bold brushstrokes and purposeful free-form application of paint speak as a metaphor of the mess that is the human experience.
Bex lives and paints in Sun Valley, ID. Her work consists of both abstract and life studies. Her medium-large scale abstractions are primarily mixed-media on linen canvas, and her life studies are pen and pastel on paper. Wilkinson’s work currently explores complex global topics, including the transgender movement, failing health care systems, and most recently the Pandemic. Bex graduated from Sarah Lawrence with a Bachelor of Arts. Post-university, she spent several years as an adjunct student studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and Rhode Island School of Design.