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Ghost of a Chance
Hilary Nelson Opening reception: Friday July 11, 6-9pm
Closing reception: Friday August 1, 6-9pm at Fourteenfifteen Gallery Hilary Nelson’s work explores the paradox implicit in the idea of something being “finished”. When does “usefulness” end?Their process involves compulsively sourcing scraps and leftovers from industry and day to day consumption, or recycling parts of old work, giving each of the pieces many lives. This working method underscores the transitory nature of the artwork, and substantiates a desire to question their role as an artist in capitalism, consumption, and waste.
“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. I think about the pieces 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 are whole by bringing in outside noise. They hold you in the place between knowing and known.” |
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Hilary Nelson received an MFA from the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History. She has had a recent solo exhibitions at Public Space One (Iowa City, IA) and The Class of 1925 Gallery at The University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI) and has been included in recent group exhibitions at Best Western (Santa Fe, NM), SOIL Gallery (Seattle, WA), United Colors (Kansas City, KS), Taos Abstract Artist Collective (Taos, NM), Public Space One (Iowa City, IA), Collar Works (Troy, NY), Underground Flower & Rhizome Parking Garage (online), GHOST (online), and The Every Woman Biennial (Los Angeles, CA). In 2019 Nelson was a resident at Yaddo and a resident and recipient of an artist grant at The Vermont Studio Center. Also in 2019, they were given access to the collections at The Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe, NM) for extended research. From 2018-2021 they were Gallery Director and Curator for The Times Club Gallery (Iowa City, IA). In 2022 Nelson was an artist in residence at La Wayaka Current Desert 23º (Atacama Desert, Chile), and in 2023 she was an artist in residence at Buinho Residency (Messejana, Portugal) and at High Desert Test Sites (Joshua Tree, CA). In 2024 they were a resident at Fish Factory Creative Centre (Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland). Nelson is an Assistant Professor at Maharishi International University.
