Bill Scott’s paintings lie within the cultural continuum
of the Philadelphia colorist tradition, passed on to him
and his contemporaries through mentors such as painters
Quita Brodhead and Jane Piper, who were themselves students
of Arthur B. Carles, the pioneer of Philadelphia modernism.
Also a student of the globally recognized abstractionist
Joan Mitchell, Scott fuses his local artistic heritage
together with the raw energy embedded in her abstractions.
It is this unique combination of influences—including
abstract compositions, saturated color, calligraphic line,
large scale, and pure vitality—that drive Scott’s
recent paintings and instill them with expressive spirit.
The underlying geometry of brilliantly colored patchworks
in Scott’s paintings evokes the sensations and textures
of collage. Complementing these blocks of color are often
overlying, dark lines that serve to weave the pictorial
arrangements together. Of this new compositional element
Scott has stated, “the authority of the printed etched
line, more than anything else, has impacted on my recent
paintings.” In Scott’s work, the harmony created
by calligraphic lines and a vivid palette defines the surfaces
of his canvases and infuses the images with animation and
depth.
Born in Bryn Mawr and raised in Haverford, Scott studied
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1974
to 1979. Scott’s continuity and legacy within the
Philadelphia tradition, united with his own unique process
and approach to composition and form, have been recognized
by colleagues, critics and collectors. His work has recently
been accepted to the National Academy Museum’s 179th
Annual exhibition in 2004, where it won the Adolph and
Clara Obrig Prize. Other major public collections that
include Scott’s work include the Delaware Art Museum,
the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, the Butler Institute of American Art, and
the Munson Williams Proctor Institute Museum of Art.
Bill Scott C.V. (PDF)
© Copyright 2007 Hollis Taggart Galleries
