Gerald Wiggins
b. 1968, San Francisco ∙ CE artist since 2008
Photo by Evguenia Shtill
When Gerald Wiggins makes art, he is "not necessarily trying to say something to people. I'm just trying to make them happy, because there is not enough happiness." Wiggins’ depictions of human figures, animal life, and fantastical creatures are stunningly accomplished. Working with colored pencil, marker, graphite, and watercolor, as well as with digital printmaking software, Wiggins' drawings are uncluttered and precise and use a spare, controlled line and careful coloring to convey detail. Wiggins also creates ceramic sculptures, from frightening vampiric characters to a rotating cast of life-like city dwellers he calls "the crew."
Occasionally, key portions of a figure or natural element are left unfinished, or isolated parts are collected together in a single piece; these techniques add visual playfulness to his style. “I like the feeling of making something in your head that doesn’t exist," Wiggins says, "to make it real.” He co-curated Shoerageous in 2014, an exhibition featuring shoes in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Learn more about Wiggins in this video, which debuted at Art Changes Lives 2017.
Select Exhibitions & Projects
2020
CE x CG x NIAD x Save Art Spaces Public Art Project, San Francisco, CA
Local Lens, Rare Device , San Francisco, CA
Playing with Scale, Playspace Gallery at California College for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
UNTITLED ART FAIR , San Francisco, CA
2018
Neighbors: Art from Next Door, Black & Blue Tattoo, San Francisco, CA
Monster Drawing Rally, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
Everything is Quiet: Gerald Wiggins Solo Show, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
"From" All Over the Place, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, San Francisco, CA
Faces and Places in the City, Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Library, San Francisco, CA
2017
Bride of Monster, Creativity Explored, San Francisco
Art and Advocacy, California Museum, Sacramento, CA
Black White, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2016
Natural History, Creativity Explored Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Celebrating a Vision: Art and Disability, SFO Museum , San Francisco Airport
Tabula Rasa, Creativity Explored , San Francisco, CA
2014
Shoerageous, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
INK, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
A Curious Menagerie, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2013
Outsider Artists, Oakland International Airport, Oakland, CA
SIDESHOW, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Undercover Genius: The Creative Lives of Artists with Disabilities, Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, CA
For the Birds, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2012
Are We There Yet?, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2011
Hands on Clay, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
SMALL, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Black and White and Read All Over, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2010
Ritual/Habitual, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Spectrum, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Santos y Otros Creatures, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2009
"Science" Fiction, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
