
Hawaii Concrete Ripple
2017
Suspended between landscape and material fact, Hawaii Concrete Ripple presents a photographic emulsion transfer of Hawaiian terrain fused directly into a cast cement ground, producing a surface where image and substrate become genuinely inseparable. Wilson achieved this by embedding the photographic layer into the concrete as it cured, so the undulating topography of the island appears not merely printed but geologically absorbed, as though the land itself left an impression. The aluminum powder-coated frame, integral to the composition rather than simply a border, extends the work's inquiry into how industrial and natural materials negotiate presence and authority within a single object. Wilson is known for collapsing the boundaries between photography, sculpture, and site, and this piece exemplifies that methodology with particular economy. At just over half a meter in height, it operates at an intimate scale that rewards close looking, revealing the tactile grain of the cement against the smooth photographic transfer in a dialogue that no reproduction fully captures. The ripple of the title is both literal and conceptual, suggesting the echo of a place held within a material that ordinarily connotes construction and permanence rather than memory or longing. Signed by the artist, this work was generously donated to benefit the Aspen Art Museum, with the artist and GRIMM, Amsterdam and New York supporting the gift. It represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a characteristic example of Wilson's practice at a moment when her work is receiving sustained critical attention across both American and European contexts.
- Medium
- Cement, concrete, emulsion transfer, aluminum powder-coated frame
- Overall
- Signed
- Yes
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