Wilder Alison

Slit Subjects

November 14, 2019–January 11, 2020
Eight large works installed on walls in a gallery. In the lower left corner, a partial view of a table on which similar, much smaller works are laid out in groups.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020.

Three works on a white wall. From left to right, sweep/s light bristles/Granulerer, 2019, fuse the/fuse--s/lip greenery, horse, 2019 and horse a/ flame/IN/flame, 2019.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020.

Four works installed on adjacent walls, two to the left and two to the right. All are made of dyed, cut and recombined textiles.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020.

Partial view of a long table on which small rectangular works on paper are laid out in groups. These works share formal qualities with the larger wall-mounted works.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020.

Four works on adjacent walls, including the diptych Drone/on pure organs link/a Slantwise shadow, 2019 to the right. All are made of dyed, cut and recombined textiles.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020.

Three works on a white wall. From left to right, Drone/on pure organs link/a Slantwise shadow, 2019, Whip an orchid\ rest\--less Wave, 2019 and Break/rift/or Cast, 2019.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020.

A piece made from textiles dyed in shades of blue, green and brown that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.

silver/sugar, whet whipped, 2019.

Dyed wool, thread

21.75 × 39.44 in.

A piece made from textiles dyed in green, orange and yellow that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.

fuse the /fuse—s/lip greenery, horse —, 2019. Dyed wool, thread 28.88 × 45.44 in.

A piece made from textiles dyed in shades of orange and purple that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.

Whip an orchid\ rest\—less Wave, 2019.

Dyed wool, thread

29.63 × 51 in.

Press Release

White Columns is proud to present Slit Subjects, Wilder Alison’s first solo exhibition in New York City. Slit Subjects comprises new paintings on fabric and paper, and an offsite performance by the artist’s band N0 ST0NES on December 18th.

The works in Slit Subjects deploy Monique Wittig’s typographical rendering of the “split subject” as their guiding structure. Alison writes, “In the translation of Monique Wittig’s The Lesbian Body, the I cannot be split, so it is italicized, and the slash appears instead in m/e and m/y. The graphic sum of these marks throughout the text is a conflation of the slash and the I, such that the I itself begins to enact a split.”

Starting with wool blankets, Alison repeatedly applies colors to the fabric via heated dye vats, imparting a concise palette of 4-6 colors per piece. After soaking in water, wool is folded and lowered into the dye baths, and the color is adjusted by dispensing tiny quantities of powdered dye into the bath. Each dye bath’s color reveals itself only when it stains the fabric, often taking shape with gentle waves that reflect the curvature of the dye pot. The dyed fabric is then cut, reconfigured, and sewn into new compositions whose seams evoke the diagonal I – or slash – in Wittig’s text.

N0 ST0NES, a music collaboration between Wilder Alison and composer and psychoanalyst Monroe Street will perform on Wednesday, December 18th at Honey’s in Brooklyn (93 Scott Ave.) Following a reading by Mirene Arsanios. Doors are at 7pm and admission is free.

WILDER ALISON (b. 1986, Burlington, VT) is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist and a 2016 graduate of the Bard MFA Painting program. Recent solo shows include $PLIT $UBJECT at Marlboro College, VT and new wools at the Hudson D. Walker Gallery in Provincetown, MA. Alison has exhibited work with Rachel Uffner Gallery, NY, Cue Foundation, NY, 247365, NY and at A Public Space as part of the The Legacy Program at The Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY.

Checklist

Related Press

Event

N0 ST0NES, a music collaboration between Wilder Alison and composer and psychoanalyst Monroe Street will perform on Wednesday, December 18th at Honey’s in Brooklyn (93 Scott Ave.) Following a reading by Mirene Arsanios. Doors are at 7pm and admission is free.

December 18th, 2019

Honey’s
93 Scott Avenue
Brooklyn, NY

Eight large works installed on walls in a gallery. In the lower left corner, a partial view of a table on which similar, much smaller works are laid out in groups.
Three works on a white wall. From left to right, sweep/s light bristles/Granulerer, 2019, fuse the/fuse--s/lip greenery, horse, 2019 and horse a/ flame/IN/flame, 2019.
Four works installed on adjacent walls, two to the left and two to the right. All are made of dyed, cut and recombined textiles.
Partial view of a long table on which small rectangular works on paper are laid out in groups. These works share formal qualities with the larger wall-mounted works.
Four works on adjacent walls, including the diptych Drone/on pure organs link/a Slantwise shadow, 2019 to the right. All are made of dyed, cut and recombined textiles.
Three works on a white wall. From left to right, Drone/on pure organs link/a Slantwise shadow, 2019, Whip an orchid\ rest\--less Wave, 2019 and Break/rift/or Cast, 2019.
A piece made from textiles dyed in shades of blue, green and brown that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.
A piece made from textiles dyed in green, orange and yellow that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.
A piece made from textiles dyed in shades of orange and purple that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020. (Eight large works installed on walls in a gallery. In the lower left corner, a partial view of a table on which similar, much smaller works are laid out in groups.)

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020. (Three works on a white wall. From left to right, sweep/s light bristles/Granulerer, 2019, fuse the/fuse–s/lip greenery, horse, 2019 and horse a/ flame/IN/flame, 2019.)

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020. (Four works installed on adjacent walls, two to the left and two to the right. All are made of dyed, cut and recombined textiles.)

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020. (Partial view of a long table on which small rectangular works on paper are laid out in groups. These works share formal qualities with the larger wall-mounted works.)

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020. (Four works on adjacent walls, including the diptych Drone/on pure organs link/a Slantwise shadow, 2019 to the right. All are made of dyed, cut and recombined textiles.)

Wilder Alison, installation view, 2019-2020. (Three works on a white wall. From left to right, Drone/on pure organs link/a Slantwise shadow, 2019, Whip an orchid\ rest\–less Wave, 2019 and Break/rift/or Cast, 2019.)

silver/sugar, whet whipped, 2019. Dyed wool, thread 21.75 × 39.44 in. (A piece made from textiles dyed in shades of blue, green and brown that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.)

fuse the /fuse—s/lip greenery, horse —, 2019. Dyed wool, thread 28.88 × 45.44 in. (A piece made from textiles dyed in green, orange and yellow that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.)

Whip an orchid\ rest\—less Wave, 2019. Dyed wool, thread 29.63 × 51 in. (A piece made from textiles dyed in shades of orange and purple that have been cut and sewn back together, resulting in seams that divide the surface into geometric forms.)