"Ed Wilson: Architecture of Death"

Inspired by horror, this Houston artist creates beauty

Comments (0) By Blake Whitaker Thursday, Mar 18 2010

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Ed Wilson knows how to create beautiful sculpture, but his "Architecture of Death" exhibit won't let you forget the terrible inspiration for his work. The Houston-based artist's pieces are steel representations of scenes he photographed at decades-old concentration camps (now memorials) around Germany. For the Station Museum show, they'll be placed next to the vivid black-and-white photos themselves. "You look at these things, and they"re beautiful objects, which is a juxtaposition with the idea of the horror of these things," Wilson says. "I've always been kind of fascinated with that - being able to push and pull like that." In Grunewald Bahnhof, he takes a tree-lined train track to a vanishing point. Out of context, it's an idyllic country image, but presenting it with a photo of the actual tracks that lead to the camp imbues it with a sense of dread. Like the rest of the exhibit, the piece doesn't sentimentalize or trivialize - it's simply a raw reminder of what's there. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Through May 30. 1502 Alabama. For information, call 713-529-6900 or visit www.stationmuseum.com. Free.
Wednesdays-Sundays. Starts: March 13. Continues through May 30, 2010