Alison Wilding On Paper

Wilding's multifaceted approach to materials is reflected in her drawings and collages focused on representing form

A colleague of Phyllida Barlow and a mentor to Rachel Whiteread, British sculptor Alison Wilding (born 1948) ceaselessly experiments with material, working with what is available to her: steel, silk, beeswax, rope, alabaster and more. Moving beyond her sculpture, On Paper examines Wilding's extensive drawings and collages. While loosely related to her three-dimensional pieces, these works expand upon her investigation of surface by using a distinctive formal language: a strong interplay between representation and metaphor. Much as in her sculptural practice, Wilding uses a range of materials, from ink to silicone fluid, to visualize and test ideas of mass and depth. This clothbound, full-color survey with over 300 illustrations lays out the subtle correspondences in forms and concepts between Wilding's historic and more recent series of works.