Carl Wilson: Her Purse Smelled Like Juicy Fruit and Other Tales
Working in prints, books, and even films, Carl Wilson is a storyteller who draws on his own life and the lives of others.
“Everyone has a story to tell,” Wilson states, “I look at the people I have known, and others with whom I am familiar, and see compelling lives that need to be documented. I believe we all relate.” Her Purse Smelled Like Juicy Fruit is a series of linoleum prints with narrative text that tells the life story of the artist’s mother. Using traditional carving techniques, and influenced by expressionist printmakers of the past, Wilson reinterprets the graphic linocut style to create a striking visual chronicle of his memories and imagination.
Carl Wilson was born and raised in Detroit. A former auto worker, he left behind the assembly plant in 2005 to become a full-time artist and writer. Since that time, Wilson has been the recipient of a Kresge Foundation Artist Fellowship, has been an artist-in-residence at the historic Yaddo artist colony, and has taken part in numerous exhibitions. Carl Wilson: Her Purse Smelled Like Juicyfruit and Other Tales is his first solo museum exhibition.