The NEW WILD art exhibition at Kissimmee City Hall January 7 - February 28, 2021

New Wild is a group exhibition by the Orlando based Visual Arts collective The Solution. While the term “New Wild” may refer to the post-WWII expressionist art movement, The Solution describes their return to the Orlando Arts Scene through their fresh interpretation on the definition of wilderness, referring to “a natural state or uncultivated or uninhabited region,” in which Orlando is considered an uncultivated metropolitan area with a great deal of credible potential. New Wild features an exclusive view of latest work by local artists Genevieve De Marco, Victorious McLeod, Jamile B Johnson, and Yve Illz. New Wild group exhibition was organized and curated by Tre Mark Harris. Works on display at Kissimmee City Hall, January 7 through February 28. For more information contact marilyn@osceolaarts.org

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Victorious Faith McLeod is an auto-didactic Figurative Artist, and Writer based in NYC, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, FL. His primary work is centered around self-portraiture and composing the figure. Self-portraits are an exploratory theme, showing how far the self can be pushed to understand or embody an idea. "Some of my work is simple and explore different aspects of the self, while other pieces explore aspects of the world and its traditions. I use myself as a medium to understand or express subjective topics. Due to the density of self-portraiture in my previous work, I consider self-portraiture a pursuit of authenticity and a documentation of my growth as an artist. I am heavily influenced by W.E.B Dubois, and by proxy, Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean Paul Sartre. Some of my work is colorful, as if built in the construct of an imagination or daydream. Some of my work is rooted in earth tones and is concerned about the personal interpretation of reality."

Genevieve DeMarco was born in Patterson, Louisiana and moved to Orlando, FL in 2011. She is a self-taught artist that discovered her gift of visual expressionism in 2012 and since has not gone a day without the arts. Genevieve has exhibited in Atlanta, New York, Virginia, and all over Central Florida including the Mennello Museum of American Art, CityArts Factory and Orlando Museum of Art. Since February 2013 she has put on her first solo showing at NV Art, multiple exhibitions with her artist collective, The Solution, two collaboration exhibitions at Loft 55 Gallery, and participated in various joint shows. In between exhibitions she’s been featured in various festivals, galleries, and participated in live paintings. Genevieve DeMarco currently lives and works from her studio in Orlando, Florida.

Jamile B Johnson was born and raised in California and moved to Florida as a teenager. After graduating from high school Jamile was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design, but even after receiving an art scholarship from the school his family still couldn't afford the living expenses. Despite this setback, Jamile was absolutely determined to become a great artist, so he took it upon himself to learn how to draw and paint. After almost ten years of painting and illustration, in 2012 Jamile became a part of an Orlando based artist collective called The Solution. Being a part of this group of multifaceted artists allowed Jamile to grow and collaborate with an expressionist painter Genevieve DeMarco. Together they juxtaposed their two very unique painting techniques and created something extraordinary and unbeknownst to many. During this period Jamile cultivated his self-taught style of expressive figurative portraits and has created his largest body of work to date.

Yve Illz is a student of life, conceptualism is her primary focus as a pursuit of artistic expression. "I find myself persistently looking for new ways to evoke a narrative or provoke commentary as part of my work. My work incorporates a wide array of media and techniques including sculpture, public performance with the use of music, found objects, film photographs, and spray paints, each in concert with the next. My work is highly influenced by activism, music, and dance to express social, cultural, and personal concerns."