Willow Wells

Biography

Willow Wells (FL), born in New England, was deeply influenced by old cemeteries and folklore, leading her to become an artist exploring allegorical symbolism. Her interest in the feminine representation of the grotesque has driven her work, which seeks to entangle the human body and nature into a singular form. Wells earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts at the University of South Florida. Using oil paint and printmaking, her work draws from body horror to explore the metamorphosis narrative, resulting in figures that blend seamlessly with plants. Wells’ paintings shift from cool natural colors to vibrant reds and mixed black over a warm underpainting, while brushwork and reductive techniques blur boundaries between figure and landscape. Through these processes, she addresses metamorphosis as a tool to express things beyond verbal explanation, exposing exterior and interior conflicts to further the conversation around the fluidity of gender, sex, and the constriction of binaries in visual culture and art history.

Her workshop “Transformation of Foliage” guided participants through the process of observing and mimicking patterns seen in nature and how to use these patterns to create something new. With a focus on the beauty and diversity of plants, participants drew and transformed them into other things using various drawing techniques such as sketching and coloring.

For her exhibition, Wells created a hand drawn animation to use as a large-scale projection over a panoramic display of drawings. Her inspiration came from the surrounding environment and the local narratives that rise from it which she developed from extensive plein-air studies at the beginning of the residency. Using the landscape, she morphs the local plant life into figural forms creating a visual experience that highlights the connection between people and nature. By utilizing life and memory drawing, storytelling, and animation programs- she elevates traditional art processes and contextualizes them into a contemporary media mindset. Turning her still landscapes into time-based drawing allows her to explore themes of sex and gender in new and innovative ways.

Gallery