BILL BARRETT

BILL BARRETT Biography

Bill Barrett, one of today’s foremost sculptors, was born in Los Angeles, CA. He earned a B.S. and M.S. in Design from the University of Michigan, and later an M.F.A. from the same institution. Since the mid 1960’s Barrett has been exhibiting his unique metal sculptures and abstract paintings in numerous solo and group exhibitions in such places as the U.S., Switzerland, Bulgaria and Japan.

Barrett’s sculptures of fabricated aluminum, bronze or steel address the interplay between positive and negative space with grace, elegance and exquisite balance. His works call to mind the fluid effortlessness of calligraphic strokes, and portray a positivism to which many viewers feel drawn. Others have said that Barrett’s sculptures are distinctly American in their directness and lightness. His sophisticated constructions, through a delicate balance of form and content, transcend the starker aesthetics of minimalism with a warmth and humanity.

Barrett, who divides his time between New York City and Santa Fe, is represented in numerous private and public collections nationwide. Museum collections include the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, CT; the Cleveland Museum of Art, OH; the Knoxville Museum of Art, TN; the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, NM; the Harwood Museum, NM; the Fine Arts Museum of Oklahoma City, OK; the International Foundation Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, VA; the Utsukushi-ga-Hara Open Air Museum, Tokyo, Japan; and Runnymede Sculpture Farm, CA. His works have been installed on many university campuses, and he is frequently called upon to produce large public sculpture by commission.

BILL BARRETT Statement

"The work of Rodin and Henry Moore provided some of Barrett's early inspiration, and his pleasure was in modeling clay and in forming metal. As a student he aspired to the satisfying freedom of abstract expressionism, but in the late 1950's, when he became a sculptor, welding and fabricating metal attracted him. Pioneered by Gonzalez and Picasso, and Americanized by David Smith, they were the techniques of the moment, but they were seemingly incompatible with the free expressionistic gesture.

"Barrett's welded sculpture evolved through distinct phases. Each phase was a place to be explored, each produced a series of works unified by a clear concept of form and technique. And then, motivated by a sense of completion, or more often by the spark of a new sculptural idea, he would leap to another sculptural plane, another space to be explored. The full evolution of Barrett's artistic creation reveals that several formal ideas recur: the arch, the bridge, and the virile, celebratory thrust of Don Quixote's lance. Underlying it all is the grand theme of Barrett's search for an almost impossible synthesis between the tactile process of free modeling, the expressive gesture, and the craft of welding sheets of metal. 'It took a while for me to figure out a way to truly control the metal. It evolved,' says Barrett in a typical understatement."

 - An excerpt from the book BILL BARRETT Evolution of a Sculptor by Philip F. Palmedo (page 10 and 11) Hudson Hills Press.

BILL BARRETT Resumé

Solo Exhibitions
2017 "Action Abstraction," outdoor sculpture exhibition, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
2016 "The Bronze Touch," Taylor Graham, New York, NY
2016 "Santa Fe Botanical Gardens," exhibition of 14 outdoor sculptures, Santa Fe, NM
2015 "Emanations in Bronze," small original cast bronze and gold leaf maquette exhibition, LewAllen Gallery, Railyard, Santa Fe, NM
2015 "Inquire Within," paintings and sculptures by Bill Barrett at The Reading Public Museum, curated by Scott Schweigert, American Gallery, Reading, PA
2012 "Bill Barrett: DNA," exhibition of sculpture and paintings, LewAllen Galleries, Railyard, Santa Fe, NM
2012 "Bill Barrett: Sculpture and Paintings," Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
2011 "Paintings and Sculptures," Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
2010 "Polyphonic Abstractions," a painting and maquette survey, Iowa State University, Christian Petersen Art Museum, Ames, IA
2010 "Synchronicity," painting and sculpture, Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
2008-2009 "Exquisite Balance," outdoor sculpture exhibition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
2008 Drawing Exhibition, Michigan State University, College of Arts and Letters, Kresge Art Center, MI
2008 "Divertimentos in Bronze," LewAllen Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2008 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
2007 Bentley Projects, Phoenix, AZ
2007 Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2006 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
2005 "Bill Barrett Connexus," LewAllen Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2004 Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
2002 "Bronze: Patterns and Color," Century Association, New York, NY
2002 Ira Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, California
2001 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
2001 McCormick Works of Art, Chicago, IL
2001 Cline Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2000 "Bill Barrett: Sculpture and Painting," Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
2000 J.J. Brookings Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2000 Katonah Art Gallery, Katonah, NY
1998 J.J. Brookings Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1998 Nardin Gallery, 57th and Madison Avenue, New York, NY
1996 J.J. Brookings Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
1996 Cline Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
1996 Mongerson - Wunderlich Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 Roswitha Benkert Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
1994 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
1993 Cline Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
1990 Shidoni Contemporary Gallery, Tesuque, NM
1960-1990 Thirty One-Man Shows

Selected Group Exhibitions
2012 Comune di Pontedera, Pontedera, Italy
2011 Friends of Finn Square in Tribeca, City of New York and NYC Parks and Recreation Department present "9/11 Memorial Sculpture Commemorating 10th Anniversary," New York, NY
2011 Museum Villa Haiss, Zell, a.H., Germany
2010 44 Internationale Künstler in Museum, Villa Haiss Museum für Zeitgenössiche Kunst, Zell a.H., Germany
2010 Governor's Island Outdoor Exhibition, sponsored by the Sculptor's Guild of New York
2010 FADA LA Art Show, with Sculpturesite Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 "20 Bildhauer-20Skulpturen," Villa Haiss Museum, Zell a.H., Germany
2009 ZellerKunstwege, Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Zell, Germany
2009 Sculpturesite Gallery, Convention Center Plaza, San Francisco, CA
2003 Elaine Baker Gallery, Group Exhibition, Boca Raton, FL
2003 LewAllen Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2003 Eckert Fine Art Gallery, Naples, FL
2002 Tenth Anniversary Invitational, Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
2001 Ford Park Sculpture Exhibition, Art in Public Places Program, Vail, CO
2001 30th Anniversary Invitational Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition
2001 Shidoni Gallery,outdoor exhibition, Tesuque, NM
2000 Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2000 Sculpture 2000 International, New London, CT
1987 Roswitha Benkert Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
1973 "Sculpture in the Fields," Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY
1972 "Invited Artists," Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, NY
1970 Whitney Annual Exhibition, New York, NY
1963 San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA

Corporate Collections and Commissions
1615 L. Street, Washington, D.C.
2001 K. Street, Washington, D.C.
Belz Enterprises, Memphis, TN
Best Products Corporation, Richmond, VA
Bishop Ranch, San Ramon, CA
Brandywine Realty and Trust, Austin, TX
The Corinthian Building, New York, NY
Dell Corporation, Austin, TX
Eighty One Mainstreet Associates, White Plains, NY
Garden Communities, La Jolla, CA
Hitachi Corporation, Kyushu Plant, Kanda, Japan
Jade Pig Corporation, Gaslight Village, Grand Rapids, MI
La Jolla Crossroads, La Jolla, CA
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company Foundation, Fort Wayne, IN
Lumiere Place Casino and Hotel, A Four Seasons Hotel, St. Louis, MO
Michigan State University Credit Union, East Lansing, MI
Neiman-Marcus, Dallas, TX
Pacific Enterprises, Law Library, Los Angeles, CA
Palazzo Hotel Resort Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Peabody Hotel, Little Rock, AR
Portman Corporation, Northpark Town Center, Atlanta, GA
Rockefeller Realty Corporation, #3 Embarcadero West, San Francisco, CA
Saint Vincent Hospital, Santa Fe, NM
Schulman Realty Group, White Plains, NY
Sempra Energy International, San Diego, CA
Tower Insurance Group, New York, NY
Trammell-Crow, Paramount, CA
Trinity Medical Center, Ft. Dodge, IA
Valley National Bank, Phoenix, AZ
West Group, One Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, CA

Museum Collections
911 Memorial Museum, New York, NY
Albright College, Freedman Gallery, Reading, PA
Albuquerque Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM
Aldrich Museum of Art, Ridgefield, CT
Allan Houser Foundation, Permanent Collection, Santa Fe, NM
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Eastern Michigan University Library, Ypsilanti, MI
Fine Arts Museum of Oklahoma City, OK
Goddard Visual Art Center, Ardmore, OK
Grounds for Sculpture Museum, Hamilton, NJ
Guild Hall Museum of Art, East Hampton, NY
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
Hope College, Music School, Holland, MI
The Hyde Collection Art Museum, Glens Falls, NY
Iowa State University, Art on Campus Collection, Gerdin Building, College of Business, Ames, IA
Iowa State University, Art on Campus Model and Maquette Collection, Ames, IA
Iowa State University, Department of Music and Theater, Ames, IA
International Foundation Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Las Vegas Museum of Art, Las Vegas, NV
Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Mitchell Wolfson New World Campus, Miami, JL
Museum of Outdoor Art, Englewood, CO
Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY
Norfolk Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Purdue University, North Central, Westville, IN
Pyramid Hill, Sculpture Park and Museum, Hamilton, OH
Reading Museum, Reading, PA
Rice University, Houston, TX
Runnymede Sculpture Farm, San Francisco, CA
Santa Fe Museum of Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
Stony Brook University, Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook, NY
Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan, School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan, School of Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Montana, Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, MT
University of Nevada, Barrick Museum, Las Vegas, NV
University of the South, Sewanee, TN
University of Syracuse, Syracuse, NY
The Utsukushi-ga-Hara Open Air Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
William Patterson University, Sculpture Collection, Wayne, NJ

Municipal Collections
Ann Arbor City Hall, Ruby Church Memorial, Ann Arbor, MI
Appaloosa Public Library, Scottsdale, AZ
City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA
City of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
Criminal Court Building, Hartford, CT
New York City, New Dorp High School, Staten Island, NY
Nyack Plaza Mall, Nyack, NY
Pennington Park, Patterson, NJ

Awards
1994 The Audubon Artists Silver Medal of Honor for Sculpture, New York, NY
1992 The Audubon Artists Chaim Gross Foundation Award for Sculpture, New York, NY
1990 The Audubon Artists Gold Medal of Honor for Sculpture, New York, NY
1988 Fiftieth Annual Guild Hall ArtistMembers Exhibition, Best Sculpture Award, East Hampton, NY
1987 Hakone Open Air Museum Award, Fifth Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition, Utsukushi-ga-hara Open Air Museum, Tokyo
1987-92 President of the Sculptor’s Guild, New York, NY
1986 The R.S. Reynolds Memorial Award for MAGIC I
1965 Kalamazoo Area Art Exhibition/Art Center 1965-1966, Second Annual Purchase
1965 Show of the Michigan Education Association, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti Merit Award
1964 Forty-sixth Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists and Craftsman of the Western Reserve, Jury Mention, The Cleveland Museum of Art
1964 Awarded an exhibition at the Kalamazoo Art Center, Michigan, where two welded steel sculptures from the Circle Series were displayed
1962 The Annual North Dakota Exhibition Prize in Sculpture 1962 Detroit Institute of Arts, Lewis Prize for Outstanding Work by a Michigan Teacher
1961 Western Michigan Art Gallery Award for Sculpture, Grand Rapids, MI
1960 Fiftieth Exhibition (for Michigan artists) at the Detroit Institute or Arts. Won the Albert Kahn and Associates Award, Albert Kahn Associated Architects and Engineers, Inc., for the sculpture FOR WHITEY
1958 Tri Kappa Award for COMPATIBILITY, Fort Wayne Art Museum, first Price Sculpture
Won the Hakone Open-Air Museum Award.
REPOSE shown at the Fifth Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition, at Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum, Tokyo

Education
University of Michigan, BS and MS in Design; MFA