Born 1975 in Chicago, IL. Lives and works in Carrizozo, NM.
EDUCATION
2005 MFA, Columbia University, School of the Arts, New York, NY
1998 BFA, Washington University School of Art, St. Louis, MO
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Paula Wilson: Toward the Sky’s Back Door, California African-American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Chicken and the Egg, Towson University’s Center for the Arts Gallery, Towson, MD
Wonderland: Curious Nature, New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
2023 Paula Wilson: Toward the Sky’s Back Door, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum & Art Gallery,
Saratoga Springs, NY
2022 Be Wild. Bewilder, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL
Imago, Denny Dimin Gallery, New York, NY
20-21 On High, Project Space, Locust Projects, Miami, FL
2019 Entangled, 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, NM
2018 The Light Becomes You, Denny Dimin Gallery, New York, NY
Spread Wild, Pleasures of the Yucca, SMACK MELLON, Brooklyn, NY
PIECESCAPE, Visitor Welcome Center, Los Angeles, CA
FLOORED, Williamson | Knight, Portland, OR
2017 Salty & Fresh, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL
Paula Wilson: The Backward Glance, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
Salty & Fresh, Cherry & Lucic, Portland, OR
Back it Up, Museum Blue, St. Louis, MO
2014 Undress, Center for Contemporary Arts, Spector Ripps Project Space, Santa Fe, NM
2010 First Story, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2008 The Stained Glass Ceiling, Bellwether, New York, NY
2006 Paintings and Drawings from the Hanno Valley, Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milan, Italy
2000 What’s So Personal, The Butcher Shop, Chicago, IL
1999 Matching Green, Fruit of the Tree’s Gallery, Lincoln, NM
TWO-PERSON and SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Thread Lines, Goya Contemporary Gallery, Baltimore, MD, Curator: Amy Eva Raehse
23-24 Plein Air, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2023 Diurnal/Nocturnal, Leroy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY
There is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art, El Paso Museum, El Paso, TX
Women Depicting Women, University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
Transcendental Arrangements, Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Irresistible Revolutions, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX
Ashley Bryan | Paula Wilson: Take the World Into Your Arms, Colby College Museum of Art’s
Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, Waterville, ME
22-23 Plein Air, MOCA Tucson, Tucson, AZ
Nicola López and Paula Wilson: Becoming Land, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
2022 There is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art, Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN
The Wild and The Tame, Denny Dimin Gallery, Hong Kong
Lunarian, Denny Dimin Gallery, Hong Kong
21-22 There Is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME
2021 A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking, Highpoint Center for Printmaking,
Minneapolis, MN
Eye to I: Self-Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
There Is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME
Prototypes, Converge 45, Portland’s Monuments & Memorials Project, Portland, OR
Staying with the Trouble, curated by Kate McNamara, Tufts University Galleries, Medford & Boston, MA
A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, curated by
Delita Martin and Tanekeya Word, Minneapolis, MN
Marking Time / Making Space, Blue Galleries at Boise State University, Boise, ID
Mobilizing The Land Scape: Contemporary Artists Explore Landscape and Place, Curated by Emily
Noelle Lambert, Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College, Keene, NH
2020 Lover Earth: Art and Ecosexuality, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Drawn: Concept & Craft, curated by Tomas Vu and Wendy Earle, Southeastern Center for Contemporary
Art, Winston-Salem, NC|
Since n’ React to the Drop (online viewing room), curated by David L Bell, OCHI Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Constellations (online viewing room), David Lewis Gallery, New York, NY
2019 In This Body of Mine: Strange Fire Collective, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee, WI
20 and Odd: The 400-Year Anniversary of 1619, curated by Kalia Brooks Nelson, Leroy Neiman Gallery,
Columbia University, New York, NY
Contemporary Performance, a group show curated by Kalup Linzy, Florida Museum of Photographic
Arts, Tampa, FL
2018 Fragment, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL
Paradise Summit Miami, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL
sweet cheeks, Big Pictures Los Angeles, curated by Mélanie Faure & Doug Crocco, Los Angeles, CA
Venus Occults Jupiter (curated by Jennie Lamensdorf), Love Apple Art Space, Ghent, NY
Spirit Ground, a film screening organized by UNDERGRUND COLLECTIVE hosted at Coaxial Arts,
Los Angeles, CA
Aguacate, ASSEMBLAGE, Lincoln, NE
Island Press: Recent Prints, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
Thinking Through Art, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT
2017 Sunrise, Sunset, Emerson Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL
The Unhomely, Denny Gallery, New York, NY
Women Painting, Miami Dade College, Kendall Gallery, Miami, FL
New Faces, Different Places, Central Features Contemporary Art, Albuquerque, NM
2016 The Home Show, form & concept, Santa Fe, NM
Girls Who Dance in Dissonance, Wayside, Los Angeles, CA
Surface Area: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Self-Proliferation, Girls’ Club, curated by Micaela Giovannotti, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Faces and Vases, Royal NoneSuch Gallery, Oakland, CA
Visions Into Infinite Archives, SOMArts Cultural Center, curated by Black Salt Collective,
San Francisco, CA
2015 Summer Art Faculty Exhibition, Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Paula Wilson & Jovencio de la Paz, Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Saugatuck, MI
Perception Isn’t Always Reality, Kranzberg Arts Center, St. Louis, MO
DRAW: Mapping Madness, Inside-Out Art Museum, curated by Tomas Vu, Beijing, China
2014 Lake Effect, Saugatuck Center for the Arts, curated by Mike Andrews, Saugatuck, MI
2013 I Am the Magic Hand, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., Organized by Josephine Halvorson, New York, NY
Sanctify, Vincent Price Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Configured, Benrimon Contemporary, Curated by Teka Selman, New York, NY
The Bearden Project, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2011 Art By Choice, Mississippi Museum of Fine Art, Jackson, MS
The February Show, Ogilvy & Mather, New York NY
2010 Art on Paper: The 41st Exhibition, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC
Defrosted: A Life of Walt Disney, Postmasters Gallery, New York, NY
41st Collectors Show, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK
Carrizozo Artist’s Show, Gallery 408, Carrizozo, NM
2009 While We Were Away, Sragow Gallery, New York, NY
2007 Cinema Remixed and Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970, Spelman
College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Horizon, EFA Gallery, Curated by David Humphrey, New York, NY
Black Alphebet, Contexts of Contemporary African American Art, Zacheta National Gallery of Art,
Warsaw, Poland
2006 Turn the Beat Around, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY
The Manhattan Project, Fred Snitzer Gallery, Miami, FL
Frequency, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2005 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Studebaker Building, Curated by Jeffrey Uslip, New York, NY
Recess: Images & Objects in Formation, Rush Gallery, Curated by Derek Adams, New York, NY
2004 Past Perfect, Kantor/Feuer Gallery, New York, NY
After Goya, Leroy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, Curated by Tomas Vu Daniel, New York, NY
Hungry Eyes, First Year MFA Exhibition, Columbia University, Ira D. Wallach Gallery, New York, NY
2002 Signs, Public Art Installation, Chicago, IL
2001 Brat(Wurst): A Show of Chicago Artists, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2000 Young Love, Mapreed Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1997 Art in St. Louis, Honorable Mention, Curated by Jerry Saltz, Art St. Louis Gallery, St. Louis, MO
AWARDS, HONORS, AND RESIDENCIES
22-23 Ossorio Fellow, Lunder institute of American Art, Colby College, Waterville, ME
2021 Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2020 Hodder Fund Grant, Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton, NJ
2019 Award of Distinction, Washington University, Sax Fox School of Design and Visual Art,
St. Louis, MO
2018 Speaker, Art Recognition Commencement Ceremony, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art,
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 Joan Mitchell Center Artist-in-Residence, New Orleans, LA
2014 ‘BAZAAR,’ P3 Studio Residency, The Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
Curated by the Art Production Fund.
Cannonball Visiting Artist Residency, Miami, FL
09-10 Fabric Workshop and Museum Residency Grant, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, 2009
Happy and Bob Doran Artist-in-Residence, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
2007 Short List, Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize, Studio Museum Harlem, New York, NY
2006 Giverny Residency, Art Production Fund, Giverny, France
2004 Edward Mazella Jr. Scholarship for Excellence in the Visual Arts, Columbia University, New York
1998 Women’s Studio Workshop Intern, Rosendale, NY
Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency, Johnson, VT, 1998
Milovich Award in Painting, School of Art, Washington University, MO
1994 Founder and Director, The Danchimah Nigerian-American Laboratory Schools Creative Arts
Center, Abia State, Nigeria
COLLECTIONS
The Studio Museum Harlem
New York Public Library
Yale University Art Gallery
Rubell Collection
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Middlebury University
The Norton Collection
Saatchi Gallery
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Moore College of Art and Design
Girls’ Club
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2023 Nash, Indiana, “On Exhibit: Accessible, satisfyingly layered works on view at Tang Teaching Museum,”
The Daily Gazette, September 2
Jaeger, William, “Artist Paula Wilson shows delirious swath of style at Tang show,” Times Union, July 31
Rivera, Lakshmi, “Your Guide to Art Excursions Outside NYC This Fall,” HYPERALLERGIC, August 29
Boyle, Molly, “Artists Find a Home in Carrizozo,” New Mexico Magazine, June 14
Dozier, Ayanna, “28 Overlooked Black Artists to Discover This Black History Month,” Artsy, February 1
Harris-Huffman, Rachel, “How Do We Embody Natural Spaces?” Hyperallergic, January 30
2022 Schwabsky, Barry, “Beyond Zombie Figuration,” The Nation, December 19
Howard, Heidi, “Turning to the Light: Paula Wilson Interviewed by Heidi Howard,” BOMB, October 24
“Imago,” Kolaj Magazine, October
Saltz, Jerry, “See Paula Wilson,” New York Magazine, October 24 – November 6, 2022
Roberts, Kathaleen, and Journal Staff Writer, “Three exhibits at Albuquerque Museum are inspired by
Thomas Cole,” Albuquerque Journal, October 21
Talluto, Amy, “Interview w/ Paula Wilson,” Pep Talks for Artists, October 20
Fateman, Johanna, “Paula Wilson,” The New Yorker, September 30
Carey, Brainard, “Paula Wilson -The Lives of the Artists,” Praxis on Yale University Radio, September 28
Cascone, Sarah, “13 Buzzy Back-to-School Gallery Shows to See During Armory Week, from a Red-Hot
Group Show to Rick Lowe’s Gagosian Debut,” Artnet News, September 6
Votang, Thao, “Plein Air Is a Sobering Reminder of Human Impact on the Environment,” Hyperallergic,
August 29
Trimble, Lynn, “Plein Air Challenges Assumptions and Aesthetics at MOCA Tucson,” Southwest Contemporary,
June 17
2021 Boyle,Molly, “Paula Wilson Layers Art with Complex Narratives,” New Mexico Magazine, August 18
Krafcik, Hannah, “The Art of Learning: KSMoCA adapts to the pandemic,” Oregon Arts Watch, March 8
Bielski, Annie, “Visual Artist Paula Wilson on being mindful of where you put your attention,” The Creative
Independent, February
2019 Hermo, Carmen, “Curator Carmen Hermo Shares Her Favorite Works from UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach,”
Artspace, November 18
Gerwin, Daniel, “iris yirei hu and ivan forde,” Critics’ Pick ARTFORUM, October
Kenney, Nancy, “Columbia University exhibition retells the story of America by foregrounding ‘black genius’,”
The Art Newspaper, September 3
Kamerick, Megan, “Natural synergy artists Mira Burack and Paula Wilson,” Pasatiempo, June 28
Roberts, Kathaleen, “516 shows spotlight transplanted viewpoints,” Albuquerque Journal, June 16
Rizzo, Angie, “Studio Visit: Paula Wilson and Mike Lagg,” Southwest Contemporary, June
2018 Knowlton, James, “Paula Wilson: Floored at Williamson Knight,” Art Practical, March 27
Carey, Brainard, Interview with Paula Wilson, Yale University Radio WYBCX, March 23
2017 Uszerowicz, Monica, “A Stained-Glass World Where Women Are Worshipped,” Hyperallergic, May 2
Garelick, Rhonda, “Salty/Fresh: Paula Wilson’s House of Art,” The Brooklyn Rail, May 1
Carpenter, Kim, “Race, Gender, and Human Identity,” Omaha World Herald, Go Magazine insert, March 23
2016 Hotchkiss, Sarah, “Black Salt Collective Agitates the Archive with ‘Visions’ at SomArts,” KQED Arts,
January 14
2015 Stumeier, Daniel, “Behind and Beyond: Paula Wilson’s Back it Up at Museum Blue,” St. Louis Magazine,
April 17
2014 Levin, Jennifer, “The bureau of reclamations,” The Santa Fe New Mexican, November 14
2013 Steadman, Ryan, “‘I Am The Magic Hand’,” Critics’ Pick ARTFORUM, July
Smith, Roberta, “‘I Am The Magic Hand’ and Antony: ‘The Cut’,” The New York Times, June 28
Heinrich, Will, “I Am The Magic Hand at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.,” New York Observer, June 18
Locks, Damon, “Paula Wilson,” The Population, May 14
2010 Gwinn, Elizabeth, Lauren Haynes, and Abbe Schriber, “The Bearden Project,” The Studio Museum in Harlem
“Peeling back a building’s layers, At the Fabric Workshop, murals of urban facades, and a celebration of
monochrome,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 30
“Muse: The New Face of Fashion,” ESSENCE, February
2009 Casadio, Mariuccia, “Faded,” Vogue Italia, June Jeff, “Paula Wilson,” Booooooom.com, February
Schwabsky, Barry, “Paula Wilson,” ARTFORUM, January 2008 “Diff’rent Tropes,” View and Spew, November
Smith, Roberta, “Chelsea: Art Chockablock With Encyclopedic Range,” The New York Times, November 14
“Paula Wilson’s Stained Glass Ceiling at Bellwether,” Oly’s Musing, October 20
2007 Maine, Stephen, “A Wild Horizon,” The New York Sun, July 5
2006 Madesani, Angela, “Critic’s Picks: Paula Wilson,” ARTFORUM, June 16
De Jesus, Carlos Suarez, “A Tale of Four Cities,” Miami New Times, March 2
2005 “Goings on about Town,” The New Yorker, December 5
Smith, Roberta, “Where Issues of Black Identity Meet the Concerns of Every Artist,” The New York Times,
November 18
McGee, Celia,“Art Against the Past,” Daily News, November 6
1999 Strauss, R.B., "From Chicago with Love," Avon Grove Sun, July 26