According to Wilson, the paintings are “an intuitive amalgamation of distinctly American signs and symbols.” They derive from a midwestern sensibility that she remembers, loves, mourns and condemns. Her images represent biblical disasters, natural beauty, corporate greed and personal disappointment and are painted in a style that is both graphic and painterly. Depictions of a country church, a carnival ride or a football game mean different things to different people, but to Wilson, depicting them enabled her to grapple with the American turmoil, chaos and collapse of the last three years and especially of the last three months. 

Meredith Pence Wilson (b.1992, Jefferson City) earned a BFA at Pratt Institute, New York (2014) and an MFA from Columbia University, New York (2020). She had a solo exhibition at Grease 3 Gallery, St. Louis (2018) and has had work included in group exhibitions at Ki Smith Gallery, New York (2019) and Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2020). This is her first solo exhibition at Steve Turner.