Jean Wilson was born in Chicago in 1958 and has been a member of the Chicago Studio since 2007. Drawn to beasts both real and fictional - ranging from wolves and wildcats to bats and birds of prey to werewolves and three-headed hellhounds - Wilson is most inspired by the feared and respected nature of these subjects. Immediately visible across her body of work are sharp talons, ragged tufts of fur, glowing eyes, and jagged teeth lining unhinged jaws. While her feral menagerie serves as a collective talisman, it is also directly linked with her creative identity and related aspirational acts in the studio; she’ll often watch favorite creature features while wearing elaborate animal masks, fantastical wolf montage T-shirts, or a full body gorilla suit. As an avid consumer of pop culture, her paintings also sometimes depict stereo systems, CD players, headphones, or favorite musicians. For another ongoing series, Wilson has created yellow legal pad drawings over the years, poetic missives listing bits of text transcribed from various source material, including magazines, album covers, and online advertisements.