WILLIAM MORRIS
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Mazorca, 2013 (detail)
Blown glass, steel stand 32.5 x 24 x 8"
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WILLIAM MORRIS
SCHANTZ GALLERIES STOCKBRIDGE 1
ARTIFACT
2008 11.5 x 4 x 4 inches
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In the Gallery We are very grateful to have the opportunity to share this collection of works by William Morris, spanning between 2000-2013. In the early 2000’s, we first witnessed Bill working at Pilchuck, which was his studio during the winter months while the school was not in session. It was there we saw him using some of the most unorthodox methods to create his Man Adorned figurative pieces. We watched enthralled as he sculpted a human head from the molten glass, pushing from the inside of the skull to build an ear, cutting into the form for the eye socket, fire blasting through the openings. It was not only his creative methods that amazed us, but his focus and his ability to channel energy, seemingly from another time and culture. He truly was a force of, and for, nature. His work brings us into a realm that connects us all, where we share a collective relationship. We see associations to the writings of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. Morris’s work is a timeless reflection on the human spirit. Some of the works in this exhibition are from the Morris Archives, as noted in the caption. There are also post retirement (2007) works that he has recently reconfigured from larger installations. William Morris created a prolific oeuvre during his fertile and intense journey working in hot glass. He has left a legacy through his art as well as those artists he inspired and mentored during his time working at Pilchuck. Jim Schantz and Kim Saul October 2019
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Inuit Woman & Child
2001 Blown glass 15 x 12 x 7 inches From the William Morris Archive
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Whisk
2007 Blown glass with steel stand 30 x 10 x 3 inches
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The Realm Between Reality and Mysticism
In ancient and native civilizations, a mindful connection to nature was an intrinsic facet of everyday life. Symbols and rituals have been used across cultural and historical lines to express and celebrate the universality of man’s bond to nature. While today that link is no less strong, it is generally less easily perceived or outwardly lived. Naturalist John Muir wrote that “there is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties.” Art can be a spiritual guide in our quest to be more open to nature’s pull. Glass artist William Morris lives by example, then uses his contact to nature in the creation of an intuitive and affecting body of art. Reminiscent of ancient or native artifacts— ranging from Egyptian to Iranian, Native American to Japanese, and beyond—and appearing to be crafted from clay and bone rather than glass, Morris’ objects are a mysterious and elegant tribute to his deep-seated communion with nature. Having neither the money nor the credentials for glass school, Morris left college in the late 1970s for Dale Chihuly’s recently founded Pilchuck School, where Chihuly let him drive the truck in exchange for training. He lived in a tree house and stayed for ten years, being appointed as gaffer, then as artistic director. At Pilchuck, the free-spirited Morris allowed his journey to be the destination and never had a long-term plan. Next, the formation of his own studio afforded him the freedom of creative expression (following an aesthetic which is quite different than that of his friend Chihuly) and the free time to pursue his other adventures— diving, rock climbing, spearfishing, bow hunting, paddle boarding, fly-fishing, paragliding and so on. Nature is not simply rhetoric in Morris’ work. Rather, his work an expression of his life.
Mazorca
2013 Blown glass, rope, steel stand 32.5 x 24 x 8 inches
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With an open mind and amazing technical prowess, Morris’ career testifies to a profound affinity for glass. He has clearly created a unique dialogue with the material. His objects belie the common inherent characteristics of the medium—luster, transparency, bright coloration—and instead showcase its quieter, more carnal qualities. Viscous lava is hot sculpted, moved, twisted, tilted, pulled, and pinched to achieve shapes not often seen in glass. Muted opaque colors are forged by rolling clear molten glass in powdered color glass and minerals and surfaces are worn through various techniques such as etching and “scavo” (a Venetian technique in which a corrosive acid dissolves part of the finish, often resulting in the iron-oxide effect evident in Medicine Jar). These methods often have strikingly realistic results, fooling the eye into believing it is beholding wood, stone, metal, or clay— not glass. Despite this skill, Morris has said “I’m not interested in replicating anything, it’s more the impression of things, of textures, colors, something that has survived for centuries in severe and remote locations. You cannot delineate that literally, but intuitively, viscerally.” He has also said “an object tells a story, whether it is found or fashioned. It tells the story of its origin, its process, and illuminates us to something outside ourselves. I’m not trying to be too specific about a particular story—it’s more a feeling, an impression, a reverence, a narrative.”
Medicine Jar
2006 Blown glass with steel stand 9 x 6 x 6 inches
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Morris’ creations are an equal result of feeling, living, and learning. From his boyhood in California, he developed a fascination with Native American archeological fragments in the hills above Carmel. He studied petroglyphs and prehistoric artifacts in detail, not in an effort to render his art authentic but in a search for a deeper understanding of the connection between the human and natural worlds. His art, and by extension, his viewers, are simply the benefactors of this inquiry. The Mazorca Urn (2013) pays homage to his childhood enchantment with native pottery, and the ceramiclike finish of the work hearkens back to high school and college, where he was involved in ceramics programs. Additional works from the Mazorca series have a ritualistic sensibility, once again defying their physical reality as objects made of glass and inhabiting the enchanting realm between reality and mysticism. In art and in life, William Morris is unafraid of risk but instead finds intrigue in the process of discovery. This philosophy has allowed him to commune with nature in a visceral way and create a daring and sentient body of work. Each work coexists between a sense of rarefication and earthliness. Though he retired in 2007 at the age of 50, his work still has a timely and universal quality. In his retirement, he continues to attune his own connection to the earth. Through the legacy of his glass sculptures he continues to guide us in our observations of the world around us, opening us up to the recognition that it is a valuable and elemental part of our existence.
Jeanne Koles
Mazorca Urn
2013 Blown glass, rope stand 17.5 x 14 x 14 inches
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Scoop
2007 Blown glass with steel stand 25 x 10 x 6 inches
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Rattle
2002 Blown glass, steel stand 16 x 6 x 5 inches
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Man Adorned
2001 Blown glass 12 x 6 x 7 inches
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Fish Hook
2007 Blown glass 13 x 8 x 3 inches
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Cazo
2004 Blown glass, steel stand 27 x 11 x 11 inches
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Lau Lau
2007 10 x 14 x 8 inches
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Medicine Jar
2006 Blown glass 18 x 7 x 7 inches From the William Morris Archive
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Medicine Jar
2006 Blown glass with steel stand 19 x 9 x 9 inches From the William Morris Archive
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Rana Y Mazorca 2004 Blown glass 6 x 7 x 5 inches
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Animal Pipe
2000 Blown Glass 7 x 14 x 8 inches From the William Morris Archive
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CINERARY URNS
2002 Blown glass Left: 9 x 9 x 9 inches Center: 11 x 9 x 6 inches Right: 12 x 7 x 5 inches
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Rattle
2002 Blown glass, steel stand 23 x 8 x 7 inches
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TROPHY HEAD
2009 Blown glass 18.5 x 5 x 2.5 inches
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Engraved Urn
2003 Blown glass 17 x 16 x 11 inches
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William Morris Selected Public Collections American Craft Museum, New York Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY Daiichi Museum, Nagoya, Japan The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH The Detroit Institute of the Arts, Detroit, MI Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan Hunter Museum, Chattanooga, TN The Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NB Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI Missoula Museum of Art, Missoula, MT Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX Niijima Contemporary Glass Art Museum, Niijima, Japan Norton Museum, Palm Beach, FL Pilchuck Collection, Stanwood, WA Port of Seattle, WA Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR Rockefeller Center, New York, NY Royal College of Art, London, England Safeco Insurance Company, Seattle, WA
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Seattle-First National Bank Collection, Seattle, WA Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle, WA Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Permanent Installation, Seattle, WA Security Pacific Collection, Security Pacific Bank, Seattle, WA Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NB Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers Collection, Seattle, WA Shimonoseki City Art Museum, Shimonoseki, Japan Smithsonian Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC State Foundation of Culture in the Arts, Honolulu, HI State of Oregon Public Services Building, Portland, OR The Pilchuck Glass Collection at City Centre and US Bank Center, Seattle, WA The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH Toyota USA, Corporate Retreat, Hilo, HI UPS Corporate Collection, Louisville, KY United Airlines, San Francisco, CA University of Michigan, Dearborn, MI U.S. News and World Report, Washington, D.C. The Valley National Bank of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT Westin Hotel, San Francisco, CA
AWARDS Master of the Medium Award, James Renwick Alliance, Washington, DC Artist as Hero Award, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA Visionaries Award, American Craft Museum, New York, NY Outstanding Achievement in Glass, UrbanGlass Third Annual Awards Dinner, New York, NY Distinguished Alumni Award, California State University, Chico, CA Featured Artist, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, Artist Series National Endowment for the Arts, Individual Artist Grant
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William Morris, 2007
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Schantz Galleries contemporary
glass
3 Elm Street, Stockbridge, MA 01262 (413) 298-3044 www.schantzgalleries.com contact@schantzgalleries.com
WILLIAM MORRIS ©2019 Schantz Galleries 3 Elm Street, Stockbridge, MA 01262 (413) 298-3044 www.schantzgalleries.com Essay: Jeanne Koles Design + Photography: Kim Saul Additional Photography: CW Guildner and Rob Vinnedge Published by Schantz Galleries
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Schantz Galleries contemporary
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glass