Cleo Wilkinson (born 1959, Melbourne, Australia) holds a BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and a Graduate Diploma of information science from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Wilkinson has had artist residencies at Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Guanlan Original Printmaking Base, China; Experimental Graphics Workshop, Havana, Cuba; Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France; Atelier Presse Papier, Trois-Riviers, Quebec, Canada; The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists, Reykjavik; and The British School at Rome, Italy, among others. Wilkinson is the recipient of numerous print awards including First Prize in the 8th Biennial FOOTPRINT International Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT and the Grand First Prize, Guanlan International Print Biennial, China. Her work is included several international collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, Russia.
Statement of the Artist:
I am an explorer of twilight zones and ambiguous spaces. Much of my recent work addresses ambivalence – the struggle with insight and doubt, hesitation and commitment and the difficulty of existence. Moments of isolation and dislocation, stillness and silence where introspection and alienation are consciously engaged and interrogated in my work.