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William T. Wiley 2007

February 22, 2007- March 31, 2007

Reception: February 23, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

William T. Wiley

Charles Cowles Gallery

537 W 24th St

In his second exhibition at The Charles Cowles Gallery, William T. Wiley continues to play with political and art historical imagery in an attempt to reveal the farcical relationships between language and power. Wiley’s work in this exhibition, while remaining true to his oeuvre, takes on a particular contemporary resonance at a time when those in power have learned to manipulate words and signs in such a way as to shift popular opinion in one direction or another. Wiley’s mischievous and satirical use of these myriad signs exposes their vulnerability and directly challenges such impervious declarations.

While Wiley works in his studio, he often listens to news radio with brush or charcoal in hand, acting as arbiter between the two media. Although Wiley deals with very serious subject matter within his work – war, death, global warming – he retains a whimsical wit in its execution, resisting austerity and embracing the impish. For example, a recurring symbol within Wiley’s current work is that of the ribbon, often used to draw attention to a particular cause or movement. Wiley focuses on its most prevalent use in recent years, the ubiquitous “Support Our Troops” ribbons, and breaks it down into its component linguistic and ideological parts, thus rendering a symbol of hard statement into one of inquiry and doubt.

Wiley was born in Bedford, Indiana and received both his bachelor’s and masters degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute. Wiley’s works are in distinguished museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Books and DVDs related to artists in this show

Location map  Gallery Charles Cowles Gallery Address 537 W 24th St New York (Chelsea) NY, 10011 United States Phone 212-741-8999 Fax 212-741-6222 Hours Tue-Sat 10-6

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