BILL RICHARDS |
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Bill Richards was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1944. He received a B.F.A.
from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York and an M.A. from the Univeristy
of Iowa. Bill Richards's graphite drawings are a celebration of the intimist's
view of nature and landscape, particularly of fern- covered swamps. |
Bill Richards,
VARIATION VII, 1990, graphite
on paper, 19 x 17 inches, image 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 |
Bill Richards,
VARIATION VI, 1990, graphite
on paper, 19 x 17 inches, image 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 |
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drawings are silvery gray in appearance, looking somewhat like silverpoint
in their fineness. There is little trace of gesture in these fully harmonized
pieces. Richards eschews crosshatch in favor of an overall velvety smooth
patina. On his larger drawings, measuring approximately 12 x 18 inches,
the artist spends about ten months developing the image of fernswamps or
boggy marshland. |
Bill Richards,
VARIATION V, 1989, graphite
on paper, 19 x 17 inches, image 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 |
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He works in small sections, one at a time from left to right, fine tuning
the piece at the end of this meditative process. In composition, the drawings
bear some relationship to the development of a work in music. In Richards's
drawings, grasses, weeds, ferns, leaves interweave in a thick and rich tapestry.
The viewer does not see the horizon, but looks into a landscape that seems
filled with color, though drawn in graphite only. |
Bill Richards,
IMPROMPTU, Number 9, DAFFODIL,
2000,graphite on paper, 20 x 18 inches, image 7 x 5 |
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afar, the drawings are abstract and sparkling; as one approaches, the wispy
stems of nature come into crystal clear focus. While photographs are the
source of the artist's drawings, Richards does not project a slide or copy
literally what is set before him on film. Familiar in great depth with this
naturescape, Richards adds and subtracts as he sees fit, based on the needs
of each drawing. |
Bill Richards,
IMPROMPTU, Number 8,
MORNING GLORY, 1999, graphite on paper,
19 x 17 inches, image 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 |
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Richards embraced the landscape that became his prime subject and captured
it on film while long distance biking in the environs of New York. |
Bill Richard,
FAITH IN A SEED, 1999, graphite on paper,
paper size 21 x 26 inches, image size 16 1/2 x 11 inches
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| BILL
RICHARDS' 2003 Exhibition |
BILL
RICHARDS' Biography |
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