Ally Wilber

Class of 2017: Artist

Ally Wilber is a Wisconsin artist, writer, and curator who specializes in the surrealist technique of fumage, or fire painting, and she is having an impact in all areas of presenting art to the public in the state.

She was born in February 1995 in Appleton, Wisconsin. At Ripon, she majored in studio art and English. She honed artistic skills that gave her a grounding by working as an art departmental assistant installing exhibitions and preparing exhibition openings for the Caestecker Gallery. She also worked at matting and framing artwork behind the scenes; co-managed an event and exhibition venue in downtown Ripon for two years; and worked as a guard for the Caestecker Gallery.

Other activities included Alpha Chi Omega, Parallax, and various musical ensembles.

She says the practical opportunities she was offered while at Ripon have contributed to the positions she now holds.

“I continued working in gallery spaces during summer internships as well as after graduation,” Wilber says, “and that experience in exhibition planning, installation and artist collaboration is what led to my current position at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. The connections that I made to Wisconsin artists while a student at Ripon have proved incredibly valuable in my professional career.”

She has served as curator of public programs at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend; the executive director of the Wisconsin Visual Artists, a 121-year-old artist nonprofit organization that focuses on supporting, educating, and advocating for artists; and artist-in-residence at The Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, Wisconsin, and ARTservancy in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Her curatorial projects have been done at several venues, including Saint Kate The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee and Feather and Bone in Appleton.

Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions in galleries such as Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Gallery 224 in Port Washington, James May Gallery in Milwaukee, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac, and Richeson Gallery in Kimberly.

Her own personal artwork is displayed on her website at allywilber.com.

“My artwork is an investigation of visual magic,” Wilber said. “I’m interested in organic forms; the bumps and folds, the porous bits, and the diaphanous, bioluminescent structures in nature. I exploit these textural qualities through an intuitive and experimental process called fumage; a surrealist technique of mark making with soot and flame. There is something invigorating and teaching about working with a medium that cannot be controlled; a process that is both destructive and creative.

She lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, with two cats and a white python.