Constructed from unexpected combinations of handmade and found objects, Allison Wade’s tenuous sculptural works consider the intersection of flatness and form. Her practice relies heavily on balance and tension to explore the structural contingencies of where, and how, elements meet. These formal explorations shape Wade’s singular, idiosyncratic visual language, one that investigates the play between two and three dimensions and the connection between spatial and social relationships.

Wade’s process, which she likens to syntax, is closely allied with language and writing. Using a grammatical approach to making, she creates highly edited sculptural works that function as words, sentences, paragraphs, and stanzas arranged in physical space. Intended to be read as a stylistically compelling turn of phrase, where each sculpture is stylistically related to the others yet remains self-sufficient, Wade’s installation appraises the relationship between individual and group, part and whole.

Allison Wade earned a BA in English literature from Stanford University and an MFA in fiber and material studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wade’s work has been exhibited at Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Ditch Projects, Eugene, Oregon; Chicago Cultural Center; Riverside Arts Center, Riverside, Illinois; Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Nebraska; Loyola University Chicago; and Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati. She is a lecturer in the Department of Art Theory & Practice at Northwestern University and is represented by Devening Projects, Chicago. She lives and works in Chicago.

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Allison Wade, Hypotheticals, 2021; walnut, steel, paint, ceramic, and fabric. Courtesy of the artist.