Art Enables proudly presents

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

July 12 – August 4, 2014

Opening Reception:

Saturday, July 12, 2014, 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 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.

His “Work on Paper” series is an ongoing project comprising pieces combining collage and pastel in a repetitious series commenting on the artist's role in society, the function of work with the gap in between work and intrinsic motivation, along with the attachment of identity to how we sustain our livelihoods. The exhibition includes one piece from this series that will help to create a Conditionalist forum in which perspectives, ideas, and beliefs about how we shape our identities as artists, employees, and 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 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; Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, DC (NW, NE, 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/.