January 16 – February 27, 2014
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 30, 2014, 5:30 – 8:30pm
Evolve Urban Arts Gallery
Pierce School Lofts
1375 Maryland Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002
202‐744‐6439
http://www.evolvedc.com/

With an educational background encompassing art history, international affairs, and business, artist Aaron Wilder uses art to explore connections between people and images with which they identify, particularly images of geographic identity and popular culture. 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 international politics, political and social commentary, popular culture, contradictions, introspection, the state of humanity, gay rights, gender equality, and questioning the process of our own socialization.

“The World Political” is a collection of Aaron Wilder’s work analyzing the fragments of national identity in a globalized world. In depicting flags, individuals, and other symbols of geographic, political, and economic attachment, Aaron explores the contrasting, yet simultaneous forces of global interconnectedness and fragmentation. The exhibition is designed as a Conditionalist forum in which perspectives, ideas, and beliefs about our own tethering and detachment to symbols that represent us, at least in part, as human beings can be discussed and explored.

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 the 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; Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, DC.

The opening reception is free and open to the public. To view this exhibition outside of the opening reception, call 202‐744‐6439 to schedule an appointment. For more information on the work of Aaron Wilder, visit http://aaronwilder.com. For more information on Evolve Urban Arts Project, visit http://www.evolvedc.com.