Visual Poetry: Bill Barrett Sculpture

Bill Barrett is a one of the most celebrated modernist artists working today. With passion and diligence he has developed his singular artistic vision for over sixty years. 

The sculptures within this exhibition were created over a forty-year period. However, a stylistic kinship evolves through these abstractions in aluminum, steel, bronze and marble, and yet an individual presence emerges within each one. Calligraphic motifs reveal a kinetic language, a visual poetry of form, structure, negative space and rhythm.

Embrace the dynamic flow of Barrett’s emotional, gestural works in harmony with the natural surroundings of ever-changing settings of earth, sky, light, plants, stone, wind, fragrance and sound. These works result from contrasting inspirations including the 911 attacks, modern dance, musical influences, the panoply of human emotions, and nature’s richness.

Exhibition overview from SFBG website.

Whether you go or not, Bill Barrett: Evolution of a Sculptor provides an insightful look at Barrett's evolutionary works, which are inspired by his search for a synthesis between the tactile process of free modelling, the expressive gesture, and the craft of welding sheets of metal. The results are lyrical, commanding, and beautifully crafted.