Glenview abstract artist Emmett Kyoshi Wilson is opening his sixth solo exhibition, “VisAbility Exhibition,” at the Glenview Public Library, on a very significant day — March 21. That happens to be World Down Syndrome Day. The artist has Down Syndrome.
The exhibit will run through May 15 and include a May 9 celebration of Emmett’s 19th birthday, from 5:30-7 p.m., which is open to the public. It will feature a musical performance by the Matt Ulery Jazz Trio and an opportunity to purchase art merchandise by Emmett with proceeds benefitting the Glenview Public Library and the Northfield Food Pantry.
During a Zoom interview with Emmett and his mother Kathy Menighan Wilson, they spoke of how his art career began, some of his major accomplishments, and how the unselfish artist uses his art to benefit others.
To prepare for our conversation, I watched a video of a documentary featuring Emmett which included a portion of a session that he had with a speech therapist. She asked him to say the first thing that came to mind when he heard certain words. For the prompt “Mom,” the witty artist said, “Chardonnay.”
“Oh my God,” Emmett said when I reminded him of that answer. “I almost fell out of my chair when that came out of his mouth,” Kathy laughingly recalled.
Emmett’s introduction to painting came when Kathy decided to have a dance party with him when he was about nine.
“I got the posterboard and I got those little fuzzy paintbrushes and I turned on music,” Kathy recalled. As they danced in the kitchen, Kathy began painting, which she said was terrible.
“He started doing his stuff,” Kathy said, and the results surprised her.
She put an image of Emmett’s first painting, “The Gift,” on Facebook.
“I started getting all of these responses and people asking, ‘Could he paint something for my bathroom?’ ‘Could he paint something for my bedroom?’” Kathy said. “By 2017 he had probably 70 paintings under his belt.”
That was when Emmett had his first art show at a gallery they created out of a loft owned by one of Kathy’s real estate clients. “Two hundred and twenty-five people showed up,” Kathy reported.
Another of Emmett’s achievements is creating an American Flag painting for the American Embassy in Croatia in 2016 for the “Art in the Embassies” program. It was displayed in Croatia for three years.
Emmett attends Glenbrook South High School, where he says his favorite subject is Work Study although the artist also enjoys the sculpture class.
Emmett’s one-word explanation for why he paints is “Joy,” he said.
He usually listens to music while he paints, Kathy reported. Sometimes that inspires the name of the painting that he is working on as in the case of “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley, a bold, primarily blue, abstract work.
Many of Emmett’s paintings are showcased in Art + Science, the hair salon owned by his father, acclaimed hair stylist Paul Wilson.
“We have a space in the West Loop that looks like a giant Emmett gallery,” Kathy said. “We have two floors and lots of wall space. We fill quite a bit of it up with his art.”
Kathy, who has been selling real estate for 25 years, includes one of Emmett’s paintings in every listing for good luck. “And it has literally worked every time,” she declared.
Emmett is a huge fan of ventriloquist and comic Terry Fator so he did a series of paintings of Fator’s puppets when he was younger than ten, Kathy noted. The two have become friends.
“They talk once a week,” Kathy said. “No matter where he is, he always takes Emmett’s call.”
They see Fator perform once a year when he comes to the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.
Fator is Emmett’s inspiration for raising funds for worthwhile causes through his art because the ventriloquist always raises money for veterans and first responders, Kathy observed.
Through sales of his paintings, Emmett has raised more than $125,000 for such charities as the National Association for Down Syndrome, the Jackson Chance Foundation, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Kathy and Emmett are currently creating a foundation, “Emmett’s World,” which, according to Emmett’s website, will advocate for and represent artists with unique abilities.
The Glenview Public Library exhibit will include 15-20 of Emmett’s works, from 2014-2024. Among them is the painting that Emmett did for his mom in 2014 for her 50th birthday.
Emmett’s middle name “Kyoshi,” which means teacher, reflects his heritage because his father’s mother was Japanese. Kathy said it is an appropriate name because from the beginning she realized, “he is going to be teaching us.”
One of Emmett’s lessons is about acceptance.
“He does not really have an ego,” Kathy declared. “He never paid attention to any differences in anybody. I follow his lead on that entire platform of inclusion.”
To learn more about Emmett Kyoshi Wilson and his artwork, visit emmettkyoshiart.com.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
