William Barnes (from the Zeuxis show, “The Common Object”)
William Barnes is a follower of this blog who has emailed me on a few occasions with helpful suggestions, such as showing me his wife’s (Linda Carey) pastel paintings who I wrote about. He has work in the current Zeuxis show “The Common Object” I just posted about so I thought it a good time to show some a few his marvelously seen still-lifes, including two from the show.
William Barnes (from the Zeuxis show, “The Common Object”)
William Barnes is a still life painter whose many exhibition’s include a solo show at College of Southern Maryland and Washington and Lee University; and group shows at Lori Bookstein, Denise Bibro and Kouros Galleries in New York City, and Pennsylvania Academy and Rittenhouse Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In New York he was affiliated with the Bowery Gallery, where he had three one-person exhibitions, and since 1997 he has been a member of Zeuxis, an association of still life painters based in New York. He has been a Professor of Painting at the College of William and Mary since 1975.
Table Top with Frying Pan
Table Top with Pumpkin 30×36
From his Artist Statement :
“I am principally a painter belonging to the tradition of still life. I paint primarily for the adventure of looking, because for me, the interaction with raw material offers opportunities to forge connections between myself, the subject seen, and the response in paint. Some of my works are painted straightaway while others are worked and sustained over an extended period. My work does not follow any one path; I select my colors, marks, and touch to represent the character and dynamic of the subject as I respond to it in the moment. In the beginning I intuitively create a limited tonal structure from which color evolves as it clarifies my perceptions of light, form, and space. I move forward and may as often retreat from my first impulse in order to discover an unseen order, a rhythm, and a surprise. I try to test and select suitable elements that accord my work an alive, pictorial whole that is a stand-in for my experience. The objects have no specific narrative and the format varies. All is viewed as a pretext for entering a dialogue with paint as a way of deeply knowing the world. In my specific response I try to realize the image as best I can and conclude a poetic order.”
You can more of his work from this link.
Painting Perceptions was started in 2009 by Larry Groff to promote the ideas, practice and experience of painters working from observation in a modernist vein from around the world through interviews, essays, videos and community. It later evolved to include imagination-based and abstract painting as well.
Bill was my first painting teacher, back when I was in undergrad at William and Mary. He had a huge influence on me as a painter, esp. my understanding of the use of color. I really enjoy seeing this work, the color has an adventurous, jewel-like quality for me. And I’d encourage people to check out the link and view some of the skull paintings he’s done. There’s a real sensitive and intelligent touch with the paint in those pieces.
Thanks, great post, Larry.
I have known Bill for many years and have followed his work as a painter and monotype printmaker. He has been so open to sharing his knowledge with his students and challenging them in the traditions of serious painting. His big show at W&M’s museum was a very special event, it acknowledged his contribution to recent painting and for his decades of teaching at W&M. I am pleased to say he has been a colleague among the schools in VA with studio programs. I hope his time in his studio when he does retire is filled with new discoveries.