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Exhibition Draws Viewers into the World of William Hawkins
The inventive and emotionally charged work of William Hawkins will be on display from January 27-April 1, 2000, at the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery. Curated by Tim Keny, director of Keny Galleries in Columbus, William Hawkins: Drawings in Context includes 67 drawings, 22 paintings and some popular media images that inspired the artist. Hawkins's highly personal paintings and drawings reveal his sense of humor and zest for life.
An opening reception will be held Thursday, January 27, from 5-7 p.m. Raymond Wise and Family will perform. The event is free and open to the public.
The Riffe Gallery will present a public lecture on February 27 at 2 p.m. and Family Day on March 12 at 2 p.m. with activities for kids.
Hawkins created a powerful body of drawings from the 1970s until 1990, shortly before his death. Using materials ranging from graphite to colored pencil to collage, Hawkins imaginatively captured scenes from everyday life. The exhibition includes animal sketches, and architectural and narrative scenes that demonstrate the artist's keen observation of the human and natural worlds.
Intensity and innovation are found in Hawkins's paintings. With their brilliant colors, rich brushwork and large-scale formats, the paintings are transformations of mass media images into vivid portraits of American life.
Born into an eastern Kentucky family of hunters and trappers, Hawkins had no formal artistic training. He began drawing as a little boy and painted sporadically while working as a house painter, construction driver and scrap merchant. Hawkins lived and worked in Columbus Ohio until his death in 1991. Those early experiences greatly influenced Hawkins's creative use of materials and unique pictorial style. The drawings and paintings in this exhibition are an intimate window into the energized world of William Hawkins.
William Hawkins: Drawings in Context will be on view at the Springfield Museum of Art in Springfield, Ohio, from January 13 through February 25, 2001.
William Hawkins: Drawings in Context is supported by the Ohio Building Authority. Media sponsors include Columbus Alive, Small Business News, Time Warner Communications and WXMG, Magic 98.9.
The Riffe Gallery, operated by the Ohio Arts Council, showcases the work of Ohio's artists and curators and the collections of the state's museums and galleries. The gallery is in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, State and High Streets, Columbus, OH. Hours are Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 12-8 p.m. and Sunday 12-4 p.m. Admission is free. For information or to schedule a tour call the Riffe Gallery at 614/644-9624.
The Ohio Arts Council, a state agency established in 1965, builds the state through the arts-economically, educationally and culturally-preserving the past, enhancing the present and enriching the future for all Ohioans. The Council believes the arts should be shared by the people of Ohio. The arts arise from public, individual and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages those efforts.
CALENDAR LISTING
William Hawkins: Drawings in Context
January 27-April 1, 2000
Curated by Tim Keny of Keny Galleries in Columbus, the exhibition will include 67 drawings, 22 paintings and some of the popular culture material that inspired the artist. William Hawkins created powerful, elemental and evocative drawings from the 1970s until 1990, shortly before his death. His drawings are as inventive, emotionally charged and tinged with humor as his better-known paintings. The everyday materials that inspired Hawkins highly personal drawings and paintings will educate viewers about the artist's abilities, sense of humor and love of life. In the Riffe Center, across from the Statehouse on High Street in downtown Columbus. Admission is free. Call 614/644-9624 for more information.
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