Wiley Holton

Abstract acrylic paintings

Biography

Wiley Holton is a Boston-based abstract artist whose work is an exploration of geometry, color theory, and mental health. She works primarily in acrylic and graphite. Born in Boston in 1997, Wiley Holton graduated with distinction from Colby College with a major in studio art and a minor in mathematics. She received the President’s Purchase Prize for her painting “Circumferences of the Void” featured in the Colby College Senior Capstone Exhibition in 2019. This piece remains in the permanent collection of the Colby College Museum of Art.

Artist's Statement

My kaleidoscope paintings articulate the chaos of the anxiety and depression that stem from my ADHD and challenge misconceptions and generalizations that people attach to this neurological disorder and mental illnesses in general. I am exploring the impact on my desired representation of chaos by intentionally breaking this geometric pattern by randomly placing and starting new centers of the kaleidoscope. I want to provoke the viewer to question what they are seeing and what they are not seeing amongst the smudged chaos. With the newer addition of filling in the shapes of the kaleidoscopes with color, I am exploring the concept of finding peace amongst the chaos.

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