A Look Closer

May 1 - 30

Artist Talk: Saturday, May 27th 2023 2:00 pm.

Stewart Gallery is pleased to announce A Look Closer, an exhibition of selected works from The Golden Bees 2008 – 2015 and Murder of Crows 2015 – 2022 by Stephanie Wilde.

When artist Stephanie Wilde started The Golden Bee project in 2008, her intent was to create images depicting the disappearance of the Western Honeybee. Though the subject addresses the environment, it came as a natural progression from the artist’s past work relating to AIDS. The disappearance of the honeybee and AIDS have a strong parallel: both are unresolved scientific challenges. AIDS has a growing impact on human lives. The dwindling and disappearance of Western Honeybee colonies has the potential for devastating effects, as well. As a visual artist, she sought in these paintings to give form to the language of scientists, environmentalists, and agriculturalists, making of it a compelling vision of the bee’s inherent value.

Murder of Crows is a body of work that speaks to the polarization of race, religion, and political views with a visual subtext of the historical pattern of prejudice. The title is an emblematic reference to flock behavior, herding and the mob mentality that so often accompanies such actions. The issue of race has been imprinted on America from the original indigenous population to slavery, freedom and beyond. Our culture has justified the history of others, those unlike us, as being inferior; a prejudice that has impacted human development on both parts of the divide and now has reached a tipping point. The extremes are visible in the racial bias in the economy, income, crime, and the prison population. Religion, as well as race, has been brought into our political world to divide and judge, rather than being a personal navi-gational journey.It has given select groups political power and has turned our society into a they, them, or us culture.

About Stephanie Wilde

Stephanie Wilde is known for her elaborate and exquisitely detailed artwork, which at first glance seems to belong to a different era. As contemporary as her subjects are, Wilde’s aesthetic, ideals, and work ethic are descended from earlier artistic traditions, particularly ones which addressed social, spiritual, or philosophical issues. Wilde has the ability to portray biting social commentary while remaining true to a cultivated aestheticism. Her approach to each project is painstakingly methodical, starting with research of fact and lore supported by scientific, historical and literary sources, while relying on symbolism and historical context to inform a complex narrative. Wilde’s technique is also painstakingly exercised, her works incorporating ink, acrylic and gold leaf in a combination of both painting and drawing.