Wilmer Wilson IV

(Richmond, Virginia, 1989 - )

American

Wilmer Wilson IV creates artwork that contends with the marginalization and care of Black bodies in contemporary life. Though he is primarily known as a performance artist, Wilson also creates works in sculpture, photography, and other media. His imagery often comes from found photographs from fliers, posters, billboards, and other publicly visible sources. In working with these images, the artist is concerned with “the way that blackness is shaped in and by city space” and interested in “producing possibilities for representation that exist apart from global advertising strategies.” Wilson IV holds a BFA from Howard University (2012) and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (2015). The artist has been part of exhibitions and performances at the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia (2022); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2021); Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021); New Orleans Museum of Art (2019); New Museum Triennial, NYC (2018); Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (2017); Flanders Fields Museum, Belgium (2017); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2015); and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. (2015). His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; The Phillips Collection; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among others.

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