
01/22/2025
Now on view through February 22, 2025
JOSEPH OLISAEMEKA WILSON
Hard Times and Silver Teeth at the Spicewood County Casino
Derek Eller Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new paintings by Joseph Olisaemeka Wilson entitled Hard Times and Silver Teeth at the Spicewood County Casino. For this show, Wilson tells a story set within a visionary casino, replete with masked and costumed gambler/performers and chimerical slot machine/animal hybrids which resemble altars. In this timeless context, Wilson’s poetic narrative walks the line between reality and imagination, and gambling becomes an allegory for life and love.
Oh, how fast it falls apart!
Lord, I’m in the red.
A shiver’s heading down my spine, and a fever’s in my head!
Poodie said to Lefty “say, what makes your spirit sing?” Lefty overturned his cards;
the man had pocket kings.
I left my wife and crying babe, my cabin in Des Moines.
I’m running into trouble,
And I’m running out of coin!
I took a younger lover
I thought that she’d be true
Her skin was clear, her eyes were brown, she left me feeling blue!
Perhaps you’ll find a diamond gemstone buried in the sand
Or perhaps you’ll lose your fortune, depending on your hand!
(Text by Joseph Olisaemeka Wilson)
Joseph Olisaemeka Wilson (b. 1999, Los Angeles, CA) has lived and worked in New York since 2017. Recent solo exhibitions include Vielmetter Los Angeles; Asia Art Center Taipei; Tiwani Contemporary in London and Fergus McCaffrey in St. Barth. His work has been included in group shows at Palo Gallery, New York, Fergus McCaffrey, Tokyo, and Lyles & King, New York.
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Image:
Joseph Olisaemeka Wilson
Chapel of Love, 2024
oil on linen
24 x 20 inches