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Bill Barrett Choreography of Abstraction
November 19, 2021 - January 8, 2022
Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | contact@lewallengalleries.com Cover: Twyla II Model, 2020, Cast bronze, 23.5" x 16" x 11"
Bill Barrett: Choreography of Abstraction Bill Barrett, one of America’s most prominent sculptors, is recognized for his works that bring a remarkable sense of lyricism and fluidity to a material that is often perceived as fixed and inert. His abstract sculpture calls to mind both calligraphic mark making and a Modernist treatment of form, suggesting flowing, dance-like movement. Included in this exhibition are also examples of Barrett’s rare work in oil painting and mixed media drawing, which the artist has long created in parallel to his sculpture—sometimes as preparatory studies and other times as standalone works. Just as his sculptures evoke graceful forms drawn in space, his paintings and drawings display a similar feeling of fluid energy and motion. Too, the addition of color draws a firmer link between his art and the influences of calligraphy, painting, and even street art, which have long animated many of his artistic explorations. Whether rendered in bronze, aluminum, graphite, or oil paint, Barrett’s art has long been noted for its approach to the interplay between positive and negative space, which he captures with both elegance and delicate balance. Barrett’s art also evinces the influence of his father, Stan Barrett, a painter who had studied under the prominent cubist Fernand Leger in Paris. The influence of cubism, as well as the art of the abstract expressionists—in full force at the time in which Barrett was a student at the University of Michigan—had a profound impact on the manner in which he saw and depicted space, shape, and form. Barrett’s art is included in a diverse array of significant public collections, including universities such as Oklahoma State University, Michigan State University, and Stony Brook University, among others; and museums such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Neuberger Museum of Art, among others.
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Sculpture
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Beam Balance, 2021 Fabricated bronze, 32" x 30" x 26" 6
Plie, 2021 Fabricated bronze, 35.75" x 28.5" x 26.25" 7
Charm, 2020 Cast bronze, 19.5" x 9.75" x 9" 8
Matador, Artist Proof, (Ed. of 12), 1985 Cast bronze, 10.25" x 8.5" x 6" 9
Marathon 1, 2008 Cast bronze, 27.75" x 21" x 15" 10
Marathon 2, 2010 Cast bronze, 26.5" x 18.5" x 14" 11
Trav, 1982 Cast bronze, 7" x 7.75" x 5" 12
Untitled, 1985 Cast bronze, 6" x 8.5" x 3.25" 13
Enchantment, 2017 Bronze, 12.5" x 17" x 7.5" 14
Citizens, 2017 Bronze, 14.75" x 15" x 9" 15
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Lyra Series 11, 2020 Fabricated aluminum with powder coat, 54.5" x 38" x 24" 17
Lyra Series 4, 2020 Cast bronze with powder coat, 18" x 9.25" x 7" 18
Lyra Series 6, 2020 Cast bronze with powder coat, 12" x 10.5" x 7.75" 19
Lyra Series 30, 2021 Cast bronze with powder coat, 18.5" x 11" x 8.5" 20
Lyra Series 31, 2021 Cast bronze with powder coat, 16.5" x 9.25" x 9" 21
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Mixed Media Drawings
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MM13, 2005 Oil, graphite and color pencil on paper, 27" x 19.5" 24
MM6, 2005-08 Graphite and color pencil on paper, 27.88" x 17.75" 25
MM1, 2007 Graphite and color pencil on paper, 34.5" x 24" 26
MM12, 2007 Graphite and color pencil on paper, 34" x 24.5" 27
MM4, 2007 Graphite and color pencil on paper, 34.5" x 24.5" 28
MM15, 2005 Graphite and color pencil on paper, 27" x 19.5" 29
MM7, 2007 Graphite and color pencil on paper, 34.5" x 24" 30
Pinnacle Drawing #3, 2011 Oil, graphite and color pencil on paper, 38.5" x 26" 31
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Paintings
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Matrix Painting #1, 2005 Oil on canvas, 48" x 60" 35
Matrix Painting #2, 2005 Oil on canvas, 48" x 48" 36
Matrix Painting #10, 2005 Oil on canvas, 48" x 48" 37
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Pattern Painting IV, 2001 Oil and paper templates on canvas, 65.25" x 32.25" 39
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Untitled #2, 2001 Oil on canvas, 64.25" x 28.63" Untitled #1, 2001 Oil on canvas, 61.5" x 36.5" Untitled #3, 2001 Oil on canvas, 64.63" x 30" 41
Bill Barrett Born: Los Angeles, California, 1934 Education: B.S. and M.S. in Design, M.F.A., University of Michigan Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2021 LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 2017 Action Abstraction, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 2016 The Bronze Touch, Taylor Graham, New York, NY Santa Fe Botanical Gardens, Exhibition of 14 outdoor sculptures, Santa Fe, NM 2015 Emanations in Bronze, LewAllen Galleries, Railyard, Santa Fe, NM Inquire Within, Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania 2012 DNA, A painting and sculpture exhibition, LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM Sculpture and Paintings, Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL 2011 Paintings and Sculpture, Kouros Gallery, New York, NY 2010 Polyphonics, Iowa State University, Christian Petersen Art Museum, Ames, IA Synchronicities, Kouros Gallery, New York, NY 2008-09 Exquisite Balance, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 2008 Drawing Exhibition, Michigan State University, College of Arts and Letters, Kresge Art Center, East Lansing, MI LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM Kouros Gallery, New York, NY 2007 Bentley Projects, Phoenix, AZ 2006 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY 2005 LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 2004 Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL 2002 Century Association, New York, NY
Ira Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA 2001 McCormick Works of Art, Chicago, IL Kouros Gallery, New York, NY Cline Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM 2000 Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ J. J. Brookings Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1999 Harris Gallery, Houston, TX 1998 J. J. Brookings Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1997–98 Nardin Gallery, New York, NY 1996 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY Cline Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1995 Mongerson-Wunderlich Gallery, Chicago, IL Galerie Roswitha Benkert, Zurich 1994 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY 1993 Cline Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1990 Galerie Roswitha Benkert, Zurich Shidoni Contemporary Gallery, Tesuque, NM 1986 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY Galerie Roswitha Benkert, Zurich 1985–86 Bellevue Hospital Sculpture Garden (outdoor), New York, NY 1985 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY 1983 Sculpture Center, New York, NY 1976–77 Brooklyn Borough Hall (outdoor show), Brooklyn, NY 1976 City University of New York, Graduate Mall, New York, NY 1975 County Executive Buildings, (outdoor show) White Plains, NY 1974 Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, Long Island, NY Katonah Art Gallery, Katonah, New York, NY 1973 James Yu Gallery, New York, NY 1972 Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY 1971 Lantern Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI 1970 Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY 1969 Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY 10 Downtown Show, New York, NY 1967 Jason Gallery, New York, NY 1966 Kalamazoo Art Center, Kalamazoo, MI 42
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Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI Hanamura Galleries, Detroit, MI
Selected Museum & University Collections: National September 11 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, 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 Grounds for Sculpture Museum, Hamilton, NJ Guild Hall Museum of Art, East Hampton, NY Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM The Hyde Collection Art Museum, Glens Falls, NY Iowa State University, Art on Campus Collection, Ames, IA International Foundation Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, MI Las Vegas Museum of Art, Las Vegas, NV Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, MT Museum of Outdoor Art, Englewood, Colorado Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY Norfolk Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK Reading Museum, Reading, PA Rice University, Houston, TX Santa Fe Museum of Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM The Utsukushi-ga-Hara Open Air Museum, Tokyo, Japan University of Hartford, Hartford, CT University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI University of Montana, Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, MT University of Nevada, Las Vegas University of Syracuse, Syracuse, NY Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
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Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | contact@lewallengalleries.com © 2021 LewAllen Contemporary, LLC 44 Artwork © Bill Barrett