Marie Wilson: “A Poet of Forms and Colors”
Gallery Wendi Norris
Jackson Square, San Francisco
Gallery Wendi Norris hosts the first major solo exhibition of Marie Wilson, spanning five decades of the artist’s career and reintroducing her work to a new generation of collectors. Rooted in Northern California and Bay Area culture, Wilson’s practice developed amid early exposure to European Surrealism and West Coast intellectual circles. Her work moves fluidly between biomorphic and geometric forms, evolving from semi-abstract experimentation into increasingly structured, symmetrical compositions in her mature period.
Working across oil painting, ink and pencil drawing, lithography, and ceramics, Wilson explored Surrealism through a distinctly modern lens. Her confidence as an artist is palpable, shaped in part by her proximity to figures such as Wolfgang Paalen and André Breton. Raised in California, she absorbed avant-garde thinking and Native American imagery; time spent in Paris deepened her engagement with Surrealist philosophy. As Wilson once noted, “I think I was born an artist,” a sentiment reflected in the unwavering commitment of her work.
What we love: Wilson’s meticulous, highly ordered compositions feel immersive and spiritual, inviting viewers into spaces that are both disciplined and quietly infinite.
Marie Wilson at Gallery Wendi Norris.
January 20-March 14, 2026
