Liliana Wilson is a visual artist best known for her intricate drawings with surrealistic renderings. She was born in Valparaíso, Chile where she began drawing at the age of eight. Liliana’s early paintings sought to process the trauma she had witnessed as a young woman in Chile. In her native country Liliana experienced the dramatic political changes that followed the 1970 election of Salvador Allende and the subsequent military coup which initiated a wave of massive human rights violations against the Chilean people. She immigrated to the United States in 1977 and pursued studies in art at Austin Community College and Texas State University. Liliana’s later work represents images of immigrants and refugees transitioning into creatively crafted unknown worlds.
Liliana’s art highlights hope through beauty as she imagines and creates images of a world beyond societal injustices and inequalities. At the same time her pieces bring to light the pain, sorrow and grief present in the world’s contemporary context.
Her favorite mediums are color pencils on paper or on illustration boards. She also works with acrylic on canvas, panel or illustration board. Sometimes it is a mixture of both.
Liliana’s most recent exhibit held now April-May 2021 at Latino Art Now, Virtual Art Exhibit, Queens University of Charlotte NC. She has also been invited to be a keynote speaker, and her most recent presentation in April 2021 was at the Borderlands Symposium at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas.
Liliana’s history of artistic expressions is the subject of a book edited by Norma E. Cantú titled Ofrenda: Liliana Wilson’s Art of Dissidence and Dreams (Texas A & M Press, 2015). The book features a forward by art collector Ricardo Romo and includes a collection of essays written by acclaimed feminist scholars including Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Antonia Castañeda, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Lourdes Pérez, and Laura E. Pérez. Liliana’s art has been exhibited in the United States, Mexico, Argentina and Italy.