David Wilson explores evidences of the power dynamics embedded in the hierarchies of institutional oppression and the histories that coincide with their existence in a Democratic Republic system of governance.  Out of an investigation of the objects, architecture, and institution of the United States prison industry, Wilson has recently developed a series of hardwood sculptures that speak to issues of incarceration. Wilson employs processes of carving, laminating, steaming, bending, sanding, turning, and polishing wood to impress time in a physical way onto a material, evoking the effects of labor and confinement on the body. Wilson’s work as a whole delves into the power dynamics of institutions of governance and oppression with a specific focus on how objects and architecture affect the human body and perception. 

With work that ranges from meticulously carved sculptures to public works to multimedia installations, Wilson has exhibited in sites across the country including Socrates Sculpture Park (New York, NY), Freedman Gallery at Albright College (Reading, PA), Novella Gallery (New York, NY), and the Flow.15 exhibition as part of the Bronx Museum’s Artist in the Marketplace program. Wilson earned an MFA from Hunter College (2012) where he currently teaches sculpture.