Hilary Nelson 'Is it Love or Is It Ladder'
Drawer 4- Is It Love Or Is It Ladder, Colored Pencil, 9” x 12”, 2018
Artist Statement
My work is built from stuff that probably used to be other stuff...now it looks like it could be something you think you know, but you just aren’t sure. The pieces are like b-roll, or like a score to a movie: you listen and all the wonder and melodrama are halfway there. They are objects, but they gain from the presence of something else. They hold you in the place between knowing and known. My process begins with collecting discarded materials. Scraps and leftovers from industry and consumption, or recycled parts of my work (giving each piece many lives). The objects created this way are at constant risk of breaking down; their transitory nature substantiates a desire to question my inherent role as an artist in capitalism, consumption, and waste. The work explores the paradox implicit in the idea of something being “finished”. When does “usefulness” end? Consumption is an illusion: there is only continuum.
Artist Bio
Hilary Nelson lives and works in Iowa City, Iowa. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History in 2017. Hilary is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Maharishi International University. Previously she was a Visiting Lecturer at Grinnell College, and for the 2017/2018 school year she was a Teacher in Residence at Maharishi International University. Hilary is also the Gallery Director for The Times Club Gallery in Prairie Lights Bookstore. In 2019 Hilary was a resident at Yaddo and a resident and recipient of an artist grant at The Vermont Studio Center. Also in 2019 Hilary was given access to the collections at The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico for extended collections research. Hilary has exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout Iowa and in Minnesota, Nebraska, Los Angeles and New York City.
Drawer 4- Is It Love Or Is It Ladder, Colored Pencil, 9” x 12”, 2018
Artist Statement
My work is built from stuff that probably used to be other stuff...now it looks like it could be something you think you know, but you just aren’t sure. The pieces are like b-roll, or like a score to a movie: you listen and all the wonder and melodrama are halfway there. They are objects, but they gain from the presence of something else. They hold you in the place between knowing and known. My process begins with collecting discarded materials. Scraps and leftovers from industry and consumption, or recycled parts of my work (giving each piece many lives). The objects created this way are at constant risk of breaking down; their transitory nature substantiates a desire to question my inherent role as an artist in capitalism, consumption, and waste. The work explores the paradox implicit in the idea of something being “finished”. When does “usefulness” end? Consumption is an illusion: there is only continuum.
Artist Bio
Hilary Nelson lives and works in Iowa City, Iowa. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History in 2017. Hilary is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Maharishi International University. Previously she was a Visiting Lecturer at Grinnell College, and for the 2017/2018 school year she was a Teacher in Residence at Maharishi International University. Hilary is also the Gallery Director for The Times Club Gallery in Prairie Lights Bookstore. In 2019 Hilary was a resident at Yaddo and a resident and recipient of an artist grant at The Vermont Studio Center. Also in 2019 Hilary was given access to the collections at The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico for extended collections research. Hilary has exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout Iowa and in Minnesota, Nebraska, Los Angeles and New York City.
Drawer 4- Is It Love Or Is It Ladder, Colored Pencil, 9” x 12”, 2018
Artist Statement
My work is built from stuff that probably used to be other stuff...now it looks like it could be something you think you know, but you just aren’t sure. The pieces are like b-roll, or like a score to a movie: you listen and all the wonder and melodrama are halfway there. They are objects, but they gain from the presence of something else. They hold you in the place between knowing and known. My process begins with collecting discarded materials. Scraps and leftovers from industry and consumption, or recycled parts of my work (giving each piece many lives). The objects created this way are at constant risk of breaking down; their transitory nature substantiates a desire to question my inherent role as an artist in capitalism, consumption, and waste. The work explores the paradox implicit in the idea of something being “finished”. When does “usefulness” end? Consumption is an illusion: there is only continuum.
Artist Bio
Hilary Nelson lives and works in Iowa City, Iowa. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History in 2017. Hilary is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Maharishi International University. Previously she was a Visiting Lecturer at Grinnell College, and for the 2017/2018 school year she was a Teacher in Residence at Maharishi International University. Hilary is also the Gallery Director for The Times Club Gallery in Prairie Lights Bookstore. In 2019 Hilary was a resident at Yaddo and a resident and recipient of an artist grant at The Vermont Studio Center. Also in 2019 Hilary was given access to the collections at The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico for extended collections research. Hilary has exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout Iowa and in Minnesota, Nebraska, Los Angeles and New York City.