This will be the first solo exhibition of Alexander Richard-Wilson, burning butte, a collection of gestural landscapes in unrest and during a time of unrest. The artist moved from Chicago to Denver in the midst of a pandemic, political unrest, and then to be confronted with the scorching of the Colorado mountains. In the pursuit of an aesthetic symbiotic reverence - there is an earnest reflection of the state of the world and the inner turmoil of the artist, as a Black person living in 2020 and now 2021.
Curated by KJ Freeman
Upon moving to Colorado, I was transfixed by the derogatory way the lanscape is framed, treated, and attacked in the United States, much like the black body in space. The landscape burned and we were inundated. I feel there is an importance in representing this period of change in the United States of America, from the hand of a Black perspective and handling. The landscape has become myself. The landscape is for you. The landscape needs reconcilliation. I need reconcilliation. The experiences I’ve had within my Black body color my everyday, and as I’ve witnessed the way the American landscape can be so casually burned and spurned by its occupiers, denied its dignity by the settlements that rely on its willingness to accept abuse, and even burned by the very people who claim patriot, I found myself identifying with the landscape. - Alexander Richard-Wilson
Alexander Richard-Wilson (b. 1993) is an African-American contemporary artist living and working in the Denver metropolitan area. Born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri and formally educated at the Art Institute of Chicago. His painting practice references the space and depths of American landscapes, and the literal relationships between figurative shapes. Emotionally, he works to reference his history as the product of a large, African-American family, and his present context as a queer Black person.
All images by: Shark Senesac
Midwinter Transition, Summer Fire,
Golden Colorado, 2020
Acrylic on Yupo
16 x 40”
The East Troublesome Fire, Night, 2020
Acrylic on Canvas
9 x 14”
Clear Creek and the head of Alexander,
Golden, 2020
Acrylic on Yupo
20” x 26”
The East Troublesome Fire, Smoke, 2020
Acrylic on Yupo
26 x 20”
Alexander’s Arm by the Door, 2020
Acrylic on Yupo
20” x 26”
Freeway, 2020
Acrylic on Yupo
26 x 20”
Icey Blues, 2020
Acrylic on Yupo
26 x 20”
Loss of Fire Containment, 2020
Acrylic on Photo Transparency
14 3⁄4 x 13 1⁄4”
Barn Fire, 2020
Acrylic on Photo Transparency
17 1⁄2 x 20”