The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature’s 2022 fall exhibition, Wildlife on the Edge: Hilary Baker, will be on view Oct. 8-March 6. A public opening reception is set for 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Wildling Museum, 1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang.
Wildlife on the Edge features new and recent acrylic paintings from Baker’s Predators series, alongside a new series of animal portraits on birch wood.
From a group of common pigeons to an elusive cougar, Baker’s subjects make themselves at home in urban locales inspired by Los Angeles landmarks past and present.
With her alternatingly bright and moody color palette, the artist offers viewers a fanciful peek into the secret lives of their wild neighbors, often hidden in plain view.
(Hilary Baker)
“I consider my Predators portraits and present them straightforwardly,” Baker said. “Their gaze is oblique, their confrontation with the viewer unflinching and their presence — like the past — uncompromising.
“It might be argued that these mostly nocturnal creatures serve as stand-ins for any city resident attempting to co-exist with a disappearing homeland.”
The exhibit will include video and photography highlighting native wildlife in the urban landscape, providing local context for creatures who make the Central Coast home, and exploring California wildlife crossings such as the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing currently underway at Liberty Canyon.
A resource table will give visitors a chance for reflection with recent news on efforts to improve wildlife habitats and how the public can better coexist with animals in an increasingly modern landscape.
The Wildling will host a gallery talk led by Baker, followed by a book signing of her recently published “Hilary Baker: Predators and Other L.A. Stories (2021),” 3-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6.
The book features a collection of essays on Baker’s work and includes photos of many of the paintings featured in the exhibit. To register in advance and to learn more, visit www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/2022-hilary-baker-gallery-talk.
A Los Angeles native, Baker, who lives in Ojai, grew up among Hollywood’s film and music industry professionals. She spent her childhood roaming the hills around her home in the canyons, hunting for animal bones.
Her subjects, ranging from baseball and wildlife to Los Angeles’ history and architecture, are depicted in her signature graphic style. In her film short, “Ecce Cat,” she paid homage to the sinister undercurrents of mid-century animation.
Baker received her BA from UCLA and her MFA from the Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art & Design). She has exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally, and has been awarded several artist residencies.
Her paintings have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Peripheral Vision, Art and Cake, Artillery, and New American Paintings.
Thanks to exhibit sponsors Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and donors to the Patti Jacquemain Exhibition Fund. Questions? Contact info@wildlingmuseum.org or call 805-686-8315.
Learn more about Baker and her work at www.hilarybaker.com and on Instagram at @hilarybakerstudio.
For more about the Wildling Museum, visit www.wildlingmuseum.org.