Willy Heeks
dal 7/1/2004 al 21/2/2004
Segnalato da
7/1/2004
Willy Heeks
Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco
Most recent paintings on panel and on canvas. The complex abstract compositions are comprised of overlapping drips, shapes, veils and striations of pigment and color. Heeks further explores his concern for complex spatial relationships through his use of pattern painting, organic line, and sensuous fields of color
Prominent abstract painter, Willy Heeks, opens a solo exhibition of recent
works at Brian Gross Fine Art on Thursday, February 8th, with a reception
for the artist from 5:30-7:30 pm. In his third solo show in San Francisco,
Heeks further explores his concern for complex spatial relationships through
his use of pattern painting, organic line, and sensuous fields of color.
This exhibition features Heek's most recent paintings on panel and on
canvas. Compact and as fully developed as his large-scale paintings, these
works, ranging from just over one foot to over four feet in height, are
vivid pictorial explorations. The complex abstract compositions are
comprised of overlapping drips, shapes, veils and striations of pigment and
color. Layering stenciled patterns and graffiti-like imagery on abstract
spatial grounds, Heeks deftly combines these disparate elements. Referencing
nature, but never becoming literal, forms hover in ethereal spaces, hinting
at a narrative that never materializes. Amidst this chaos of organic line
and vibrant color is a more cerebral framework that informs and controls the
improvisational appearance of the work. Heeks creates a precarious balance -
a controlled chaos - between the gestural abstraction and the more literal
imagery in these tension-filled, dynamic compositions.
Willy Heeks, born in 1951, has gained a national reputation over the last 20
years, exhibiting in New York, Los Angeles, and throughout the United
States. He received his BFA from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston
in 1973 and attended the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study
program that same year. He was a recipient of an NEA fellowship in 1978.
1987, and 1989 and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant in 1997. His work is
featured in museum and corporate collections, including the Brooklyn Museum
of Art, New York; Chase Manhattan Bank, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art,
Washington, DC; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art; among others.
For more information and visuals, please contact Tressa Williams, Assistant
Director at (415) 788-1050 or by email
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:30am-5:30pm, Saturday 11am  5pm