Art Enables proudly presents “Lost & Found”

A Group Show at Off-Rhode Gallery Including the Art of Aaron Wilder

March 14 – April 17, 2015

Opening Reception:

Saturday, March 14, 1:00 – 4:00pm

Art Enables / Off-Rhode Gallery

2204 Rhode Island Avenue NE

Washington, DC 20018

202-554-9455

http://www.art-enables.org/off-rhode/

Aaron Wilder uses art to explore intrapersonal and interpersonal connections. He works primarily in mixed media and acrylic paint and uses color, line, and text to grab attention and provoke personal interaction with his work. Some of the more dominant themes in his artwork include political and social commentary, popular culture, contradictions, introspection, the state of humanity, and questioning the process of our own socialization.

“Lost & Found” is a juried exhibition by Art Enables at the Off-Rhode Gallery. The show features work by a variety of artists created with found materials and/or reflect on the theme of items both lost and found. Two pieces from Aaron Wilder’s “Heart of a Fool” series are included in the show. “Heart of a Fool” is a project exploring the concept of personal identity, including how we as human beings exhibit aspects of our inner selves while masking other characteristics. In this series, Aaron uses repetition and differentiation to convey different individual stories reflecting upon interpersonal relationships in a larger, cohesive intrapersonal narrative.

Aaron defines his beliefs about the meaning of art through the term Conditionalism. The conditional tense (or mood) in languages is used to refer to a hypothetical state of affairs or to discuss what would happen under certain circumstances. Thus, a Conditionalist is one who is concerned with understanding a range of perspectives through dialogue with others who may perceive events and the world around them in different ways. Before it was appreciated for its aesthetic qualities, art (in its diverse array of expressions) was used as a way to facilitate the communication of ideas. Therefore, as a Conditionalist, he seeks to employ his work in creating a forum to celebrate art as dialogue where individuals can share their perspectives on issues in their community and across the world.

Originally from Arizona, Aaron has also lived in California and France and currently resides in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, DC. He has been creating art since 2002 and has shown at exhibitions in Chicago, Illinois; Flagstaff, Arizona; Gilbert, Arizona; Hyattsville, Maryland; New York, New York (Brooklyn and Manhattan); Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, DC (NE, NW, and SE).

The opening reception is free and open to the public. For more information on the work of Aaron Wilder, visit http://aaronwilder.com. For more information on Art Enables and Off-Rhode Gallery, visit http://www.art-enables.org/off-rhode/.