LeRone Wilson, a New York artist, will present a series that speaks to the condition of the human spirit in its constant pursuit of a higher power that allows for freedom of faith as a guiding source and escape from fleshly travails. His encaustic works, or sculpted paintings as he calls them, are a medley of textures, composition, and light that challenge the senses, as the viewer tries to reconcile it substance and his own spiritual truth. By signing all of his works IN HIS NAME and employing themes of biblical references, Wilson challenges convention and invites the viewer to join him in an escape into the realm beyond our own understanding.

Wilson has spent the last decade exploring faith and the relationship between God, man and creativity, using this very ancient and archival medium as a reference to God’s everlasting presence for the believer. His work, “Glory #1,” was featured in the acclaimed museum group show, “Ashe to Amen: African Americans in Biblical Imagery,” which opened at the Museum of Biblical Art (MoBIA) in NY last year. He received his BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Art and Design in 1994.

Selected Works

In His Name

Wilson’s work represents a medley of different textures that stimulate the senses, making the art not just a thing of beauty to be admired from a distance, but something we can feel connected to through the expression of touch. It’s a way of revealing an image without actually being able to control it, letting it come about itself.

He breaks down the element of encaustics with lines and streamlines of simplicity to encourage a sense of openness. In this way, it becomes fluid and free flowing. The patterns and textures formed by the wax embody a sense of time and continuity. Minimalism can be defined as the perfection that an artifact achieves when it is no longer possible to improve it by subtraction. This is the quality I want to achieve with the texture of the encaustic. Every component, every detail and every function has been reduced or condensed to the essential. The simplicity of his work explores the possibility of working creatively without disrupting the purity of the material.

Salvation | 50 x 47 x 4

Bleu Standing | 50 x 50 x 5

Woven in Faith | 53 x 48 x 3

Rest finds Grace | 28 x 28 x 5