D U N N   A N D   B R O W N   C O N T E M P O R A R Y

PRESS RELEASE

William Bailey
Paintings
October 13 through November 11, 2006

Opening Reception For The Artist, Friday, October 13, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Dunn and Brown Contemporary is proud to announce an exhibition of important paintings by William Bailey. For over forty years, Bailey has distinguished himself as a leading American painter through the pristine timelessness of his still life paintings. Bailey’s paintings were first shown in Texas nearly twenty-five years ago in a one-person exhibition at the Meadows Museum. William Bailey: Paintings marks the return of the artist’s work to Texas and is a rare opportunity to see a group of his paintings outside of a museum setting.

Bailey is among the most influential representational painters of the last half century. Over the years, he has become known worldwide for his precise and understated yet powerful still life paintings. Selected by the artist, the works in this exhibition include five major paintings created within the past six years. Although Bailey has been compared and contrasted to a wide range of artists, from Caravaggio to Alex Katz, his still life paintings are undeniably unique in color, composition, texture, and essence. The objects, each one a monument in itself, pose for the viewer on an elegant, stage-like table. Pitchers, bowls, cups, and eggs are luminous against a minimal background of terra-cota, grey green, brick red, or earth brown. Only subtle corners and arches set them apart, interrupting his well thought-out composition. Bailey’s tight brush strokes and clearly defined lines present objects without wear and tear. Always painted from the artist’s memory, these objects are repeated in various paintings, slightly altered in size and placement. When asked about the objects he chooses, Bailey stated:

"The reason I select these objects is because they are the kinds of things that I’ve always had around me, the kinds of objects I like. They are the things I look at out of the corner of my eye, whether in the kitchen or some other place in the house, so they have been convenient in that way. Another reason is that I don’t want objects that seem to require a particular context, either historical or social."

Bailey not only contemplates which pots, bowls, and utensils he is going to place in his paintings, but he also decides, very specifically, which colors will create the desired mood of the painting. Dividing his time between his studios in Connecticut and Italy, Bailey chooses colors that remind him of places and towns that he has visited. It is through these deliberate choices of color and object as well as the quiet coolness of the expansive surface of the canvas that Bailey conveys an elegant and mysterious remoteness in each of his still lifes.

William Bailey is Professor of Art Emeritus at Yale University and counts among his many accolades election to the National Academy of Design, membership of The American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and serving as a trustee for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation from 1970 to the present. Originally from Council Bluffs, Iowa, the artist now divides his time between Connecticut and Italy. He received both his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Yale University, and since then has exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. Bailey has an extensive exhibition history, and his works appear in numerous public and private collections including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Museum of Modern Art, NY; National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; among many others.

Dunn and Brown Contemporary is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm and by appointment. Please contact Sarah Stork at the gallery or via e-mail at sstork@dunnandbrown.com for additional information or to request visuals of the exhibition.