Arranged in a circle, the chairs invite guests to sit. Through this physical and collective participation, the work investigates an attempt at generational reconnection using presence and shared space as a means of exchange. The act of sitting becomes a performative moment, blurring the boundaries between object, viewer, and participant. This installation marks a return to performance-based practice for Wilson. By merging text, sculpture, and the body, Wilson positions language as something experienced through time, memory, and interpersonal connection.
WILMER WILSON IV (b. 1989) investigates the marginalization and care of Black bodies in contemporary life. Born in Richmond, VA and based in Philadelphia, Wilson is concerned with “the way that blackness is shaped in and by city space” and interested in “producing possibilities for representation that exist apart from global advertising strategies.” Wilson holds a BFA from Howard University (2012) and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (2015). The artist has been part of exhibitions and performances at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (2023); the Murray Art Museum, Albury Australia (2023); the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia (2022); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2021); Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021); New Orleans Museum of Art (2019); New Museum Triennial, NYC (2018); Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (2017); Flanders Fields Museum, Belgium (2017); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2015); and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. (2015). His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Baltimore Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond among others.
