La Lecture © David G. Wilson Painting

My name is David G. Wilson. I was born in 1953 in the English and French Creole speaking Caribbean Island, The Commonwealth of Dominica. I have been painting for over forty-five (45) years. However, my artistic inclination has been lifelong. I immigrated to the United States in 1976 where I obtained a bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in foreign languages (French & Spanish). I am a self-taught artist whose interest in painting intensified on my arrival in the United States. By visiting the numerous museums at my disposal in the USA, I have been able to learn more about Art and Art History than if I had attended art school. I live in New York City with my wife of thirty-eight (38) years, Yvonne. ANTHROPOMORPHIC PERCEPTION. I paint in a style that I call "Anthropomorphic Perception." It reflects "An exercise in Ultra-Perceptive Plausible Juxtaposition." Anthropomorphic Perception demonstrates my cultivated ability to perceive hitherto unseen alternative realities within any image that I behold. The "mnemonic" objects and images that I perceive therein are reminiscent of the trinkets with which my African ancestors were equated. By strategically juxtaposing inanimate objects to create human form I try to graphically approximate the cruel and reductive equation to which slavery devalued the image of my African ancestors and it serves to illustrate the degree of dehumanization to which my ancestors were subjected. By strategically juxtaposing commonplace anthropomorphic still-life objects that collectively create a human form, I can portray the obvious humanity that the slave-master refused to acknowledge, but instead chose to see my ancestors as merchandise to be bought and sold at the auction. From childhood, my exposure to images of European art has left me with an unapologetic predilection for Western aesthetics. In short, I love European Old-master paintings and have had a life-long infatuation with the work of Leonardo da Vinci. In 1980, shortly after discovering the works of Salvador Dal, and by extension that of Guiseppi Arcimboldo, I read a quote from Leonardo,the artist who wishes to enhance his faculties for creative invention can stare at a stain on the wall and perceive therein, whatever he wishes to see. I was instantly taken back to my childhood when my mother was teaching my late brother, Eddie, and me to read.