Wiley Holton

 
 

Bio: 

Wiley Holton is a Boston-based abstract artist whose work is an exploration of geometry, color theory, and mental health. She has worked in oil, acrylic, graphite, printmaking, clay, and wood. Born in Boston in 1997, Wiley 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. Wiley has since been awarded Artist of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 at the Cambridge Art Association’s Members Shows. She was also a featured emerging artist at the Boston International Fine Art Show in 2022. 

Statement: 

Wiley Holton's kaleidoscope paintings articulate the chaos, anxiety, and depression that stem from her ADHD and, in depicting how her brain feels and functions, challenge the misconceptions that people attach to this neurological disorder and mental illnesses in general. When randomly starting new centers of the kaleidoscope, Wiley intentionally breaks the ordered geometric pattern she has so meticulously created, provoking the viewer to question what they are seeing and not seeing amongst the smudged lines. Each piece explores contrast between the background and the lines themselves, demonstrating a complexity of vision, emotion, and experience. Her style continues to evolve with her evolving understanding of herself. Beginning with the addition of filling in the shapes of the kaleidoscopes with color in her Emergent Series, she explores the concept of finding peace amongst the chaos, of art as remedy. Her Horizon Lines style, which breaks down nature into its core colors and explores the vast range of hues between them, marks a continued study of meditation, even nostalgia. In her newest series, “Motion,” she aims to bridge the abstract with the familiar as she combines both of her usual styles, mixing the innate connotations of colors with the geometry of her world. Her work is in numerous private collections across the country. 

CV: 

Group Shows: 

  • “Exhibit New England ’23,” North Shore Art Association of Gloucester, Gloucester MA, July 2023. 

  • “Beautiful Fragile Earth,” Gallery Sitka, Newport RI, April-May 2023. 

  • “Members Prize Show,” Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge MA, March-April 2023. 

  • “Talking Points,” Cambridge College, Charlestown MA, February 2023. 

  • “Small Works,” Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs NY, November 2022. 

  • Boston International Fine Art Show, Boston MA, October 2022. 

  • “Awakening + Furor,” Roaring Artist Gallery, Online Gallery, September 2022. 

  • “Liminal II,” Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland OR, August 2022. 

  • "Exhibit N.E., NSAA Regional Juried Show," North Shore Art Association of Gloucester, Gloucester MA, June 2022. 

  • "Exhibition One," North Shore Arts of Gloucester, Gloucester MA, April 2022. 

  • “9th Annual Abstract Sanctuary,” Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland OR, March 2022. 

  • “Members Prize Show,” Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge MA, March 1-19, 2022. 

  • “BLUE 2021,” Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge MA, November 9-27, 2021. 

  • 50th Anniversary Exhibition, Dedham Art Association, Dedham MA, October 2021. 

  • “Grandeur of Color,” Modern Visual Arts Gallery, Bethlehem PA, August 2021. 

  • Opening Exhibition, Topo Gallery, Camden ME, April 2021. 

  • “8th Annual Abstract Sanctuary,” Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland OR, March 2021. 

  • “Winter Open Studios,” Mother Brook Arts, Dedham MA, December 2019. 

  • “Senior Exhibition,” Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville ME, May 2019. 

Honors and Awards: 

  • Artist of the Year Award, “Rule of Thirds,” 36x48”, Members Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, 2023. 

  • Artist of the Year Award, "Only Time Will Tell," 36x36", Members Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, 2022. 

  • Juror’s Choice Award, “August Blues 1,” 12x12”, BLUE 2021 Exhibition, 2021. 

  • Third Place Cash Prize, “No In Between 1,” 20x16”, Mother Brook Juried Exhibition, 2019. 

  • President’s Purchase Prize, “Circumferences of the Void,” 70x70”, Colby College Museum of Art, 2019. 

Visiting Artist: 

  • Boston University Academy Inaugural Visiting Artist, 2021.