Building upon a unique visual vocabulary of thread, paint, and wood, Brian Wills makes work that evokes experiential understandings of line, color, space, and object conceptualized in alignment with minimalist abstraction, the subversive history of the monochrome, California Light & Space, and other art historical paradigmatic shifts. Singular strands of thread are delicately wrapped around wooden substrates, eventually creating surfaces that appear to vibrate and shift depending on available light, thread density, the architecture of the panel, and the motion of the viewer. Wills is acutely aware of the mechanics of perception—the visual cortex interprets received visual data in the form of color, motion, texture, and depth. When exposed to pattern, the brain extrapolates as it habituates, and Wills creates and breaks patterns to emphasize intuition and draw attention to methods of construction. Engaging with one’s own perception is always a gift, offering moments of joy, wonder, and self-reflection—in other words, investments in observation are rewarded handsomely.

Brian Wills (b. 1970, Lexington, KY) received his BA from Denison University, his MA from Harvard University, and his JD from Harvard Law School. Wills’ work has been exhibited at numerous galleries internationally including TOTAH, Nyehaus, and Joshua Liner Gallery in New York, NY; Galerie Michael Janssen in Köln, Germany; Praz-Dellavallade in Paris, France, and Los Angeles, CA; Quint Gallery in La Jolla, CA; Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach, FL; and OCHI in Los Angeles, CA and Sun Valley, ID. In 2010, Wills work was featured in Swell: Art 1950-2010, a survey of Californian Light & Space and Finish Fetish artists that took place simultaneously at Nyehaus, Metro Pictures, and Friedrich Petzel Gallery in New York. Wills’ work has been included in exhibitions at museums and institutions including Underground Museum, Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, and Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, CA; Huntington Beach Art Center in Huntington Beach, CA; and Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, CA. Wills’ work is part of numerous public and private collections including The Jarl Mohn Family Foundation in Los Angeles, CA; Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs, CA; The Estee Lauder Collection in New York, NY; and Fundación/Colección Jumex in Mexico City, Mexico. Wills lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.