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Master glass artist William Morris has the uncanny ability to manipulate blown glass into something it really isn't by creating the optical equivalence of bone, wood, stone and leather. Morris pushes the limit of glass blowing with his mesmerizing sculptures of spirited forms using extraordinary technical skills that seem beyond the physical and chemical possibilities of glass. Born in 1957 in Carmel, California, William Morris is also considered to be one of the most gifted and daring young glass artists in America today. Morris's artwork can be found in numerous public collections, including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY; The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA; The Smithsonian National Museum, Washington, DC; The Norton Museum, Boca Raton, FL; American Glass Museum, Millville, NJ; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Hokkaido, Japan; Musee Des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France; Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England. Morris has traveled worldwide, working with the masters of Italian glass and others, including American Glass Artist Dale Chihuly. He has also shared his extraordinary skills in workshops and demonstrations throughout the globe. Morris currently resides in Washington State near the renowned Pilchuck Glass School where, during the past twenty five years, he has been a student, gaffer, teacher and artist in residence, as well as Artistic Director in 1991and member of the Board of Directors in 1992. Morris' unique treatment of surface texture is achieved by various techniques such as sprinkling powdered glass and minerals onto a blown surface, etching, and acid washing to achieve "ancient" and textural diversity. Now working in bronze, Morris continues to dazzle us with his brilliance, impeccable craftsmanship and artistic vision. "Morris's works are not flashy as is much that is created in this medium, but more quietly beautiful, with their opaque, sensual surfaces, and luminous color that seems to glow within each piece as if it were some sort of life force or blood coursing through," states Patricia Watkinson, Director of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. His work invites the visitor to contemplate the ever-widening gap between contemporary culture, which focuses on technology and progress and our primitive beginnings, shaped by the forces of nature and myth. Morris acknowledges the influence of Italian artists who have shared their knowledge of techniques for crafting glass, so essential to the realization of Morris' ideas. Strongly influenced by his interest in archeology and ancient pagan cultures, Morris explores the timeless relationship between humans and their enviroment, evoking images from a time when man was more in tune with nature. Various works such as the Idolo and Idolito Series, Artifact Vessels, Suspended Artifacts, and Rhyton Vessels illustrate symbolic and mythological influences. Glass and bronze sculptor William Morris' new series
Rhyton represents more than an advance in the expression of message
and content. It also demonstrates why he is considered one of the
world's foremost glass artists. The exquisite shapes, subtle bends,
enticing textures, and bright colorations are superb--and well
harmonized with the primordial themes he is developing. As always,
fascinated by the ideas of nature and death through the vehicle/vessel
of the animal, Morris has drawn upon identifiable horned mammals
such as the bull, stag, antelope, and elk, along with other quadrupeds
like the horse.
BORN EDUCATION RECENT AWARDS
© Galleria Silecchia 2000-15 Sarasota, Florida. All rights reserved.
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Morris
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American glass and bronze artist William Morris, considered one of the world's foremost glass
artists, uses the fragile medium of glass and now the strong
medium of bronze to recreate life-size black ravens and exquisite
deer heads that reflect themes of myth, archaeology and the animal. Morris'
limited edition bronze sculptures are created from molds taken
from blown glass originals that are documented in the William
Morris Studio Archives. 
Extensively written about, William Morris' work is
perhaps best described in these words by Tina Oldknow, Curator
of Modern Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass and co-author
of the new Morris book, "Animal/Artifact": "In
looking at Morris' art, we are reminded of what it is to be ancient,
what it is to be human; we momentarily reconnect with that elemental
aspect of our psyches that is prehistoric. This is the territory
that Carl Jung termed the collective unconscious, a potent repository
of meaning and experience. Beyond his technical brilliance in the
craft of blowing and sculpting glass, it is Morris' ability to
enter and work within the realm of the unconscious that makes him
a superior artist." 
