Brave New World (Do Not Listen to Strangers)

Wil Swink was born in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1981. Swink is a self-taught artist who began painting in 2011 while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In a brash attempt to impress a woman (now his wife), Swink, fictitiously, told her he was an artist and wanted to use her as a muse. This forced him to produce a portrait of her, which then became the catalyst for booking his first public art show. Swink continued to show work in the Boston area and has since shown work in his native Virginia, New York, and New Jersey. After living in the Boston area for over ten years, Swink is now living and working out of Long Branch, NJ.

The paintings are typically a result of many layers of paint, maps or blueprints, wood stain, epoxy, etching and wood. These materials serve to provide richness and meaning in the sensory process. Swink’s work is a product of a variety of life experiences and a vehicle for self-expression. Having a background as social worker, teacher, and therapist, Swink's art captures themes related to the complex nature of the human experience.