Bio
Lily Wilkins (b. Los Angeles, California) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in Brooklyn, NY. She received a BFA in Fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art . While participating in the Core Fellowship at the Penland School of Craft (2022-24), Lily began working with multiple mediums, exploring the transformative possibilities of different materials and translating her visual vocabulary into various forms. Her work is deeply rooted in the exploration of urban and industrial landscapes and the intricate interplay between architecture, industry, and public spaces. Lily’s practice draws inspiration from both the industrial and the hand made, producing work that fluctuates between sculptural and functional objects that share a common aesthetic language.
Education
2022-24
Core Fellowship, Penland School of Craft
2021
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), BFA in Fiber, Summa Cum Laude
2019
Studio Arts College International, Florence IT, Painting and Archeological Artifacts Conservation
Awards, Grants & Residencies
2025
Winter Residency, Penland School Of Craft
2024
Creative Glass Fellowship, Wheaton Arts, NJ
Winter Residency, Penland School Of Craft
2023
Winter Residency, Penland School Of Craft
2022-24
Core Fellowship, Penland School of Craft, NC
Group Exhibitions
2025
Rendered Presence, Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
2023
Red Thread, Penland Gallery North, Penland, NC
2022
Stone Fruit, Penland Gallery North, Penland, NC
Altar, BOZOMAG, Los Angeles, CA
2021
Garden, Ladies’ Room (virtual exhibition), Los Angeles, CA
2019
A Common Thread, Banko Gallery- The Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
2017
MICA Juried Undergraduate Exhibition, Decker Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Other Experience
2025
Instructor: “Cold Connections: Intro to Gluing”, Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY
Instructor: “Hot edges, Cold Cuts: Intro to Cold Working”, Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY
Teaching Assitant for Jason Minami, Weekend Workshop, Penland School of Craft, NC
2024
Teaching Assistant for Granite Calimpong, Spring Concentration, Penland School of Craft, NC
2021
Studio Assistant to Hayley Barker, Los Angeles, CA
2018-19
Co-Curator for the group show historically hysterical, organized by MICA’s Exhibition Development Seminar (EDS)
Statement
Referencing mundane, mass produced objects I create replicas in glass, textiles, wood, and drawings, focusing on pattern, surface embellishment, and repetition. Through observing and translating the visual language of elements within constructed environments, I meditate on the commonalities of various spaces, how forms and objects exist in different places and become manipulated by the needs and behaviors of their consumers. A question I pose to myself in my work; “If you have a memory of a place, does it have a memory of you?”
How are we reflected in the spaces we frequent and how is our absence illustrated onto materials by the gestures we leave behind? Bricks laid on a section of a walkway although originally somewhat identical in their dimension become weathered, cut, and obscured by use. It is these signs of use that suddenly transform mundane objects into a catalog of the history of the environment. Working site specifically, I observe, render, and model forms at different scales. Engaging with these forms, I prompt the viewer to consider how they could be used differently, and what it means to recontextualize our environment.