William Hook Blue Skies Up Above - A One Man Show

WILLIAM C. HOOK BLUE SKIES UP ABOVE A ONE MAN SHOW

WILLIAM C. HOOK BLUE SKIES UP ABOVE A ONE MAN SHOW

JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2020 Opening Reception JULY 31, 2020 5-7pm

cover image: June Bouquet 24x24 acrylic

MEYER GALLERY 225 CANYON ROAD SANTA FE NM 87501 WWW.MEYERGALLERIES.COM 505.983.1434

The American landscape is William Hook’s inspiration. Large skies, low horizons, distant mountains, and textured foregrounds are expressed in his paintings with broad brushstrokes of vivid color. His work is distinctive and stands out from the crowd of today’s genre of landscape painters. The magazines Southwest Art, Art of the West, U.S. Art, American Artist, and Focus Santa Fe have featured Hook’s work in cover articles that proclaim his importance as a leading landscape painter. The book, Leading the West by Donald Hagerty, features William Hook as one of the notable influence on the western art scene. In addition, publishers Harper-Collins and North Light have included his work in numerous books written about the contemporary art process in Europe and America.

William Hook’s background in art began at home. It was through the influence of his father and grandmother, a professional photographer and architect respectively, that art became second nature to him. Other family members were art historian Bainbridge Bunting, prominent Italian painters Gino and Bertha Venanzi, as well as Pulitzer Prize winning author, Willa Cather. When the discussion of art arose at the Hook household, there was never a lack of opinions and interests. “I was always encourage to try new media, and that is one reason why I still paint in acrylic. My grandmother would find materials in art stores or would have read about a newly developed medium and I would be the art quinea pig”.

After having attended classes at the Kansas Art Institute, Hook left his hometown of Kansas City to continue his study of fine art at the University of New Mexico. Hook went on to complete his formal education at the Universita Per Straniere (Perugia, Italy) and the Art Center College of Design (Los Angeles, CA). It was his time spent in New Mexico where the scenery made an indelible impression on the aspiring artist, so much so, that he returned to make it his home and frequent subject. “I have painted all over the United States and Europe and continue to find New Mexico at the center of my work”.

Mr. Hook’s paintings can be found in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, the Tucson Art Museum, the University of New Mexico, the FORBES Museum, NYC, and the Genesee Museum, NY. In addition, Hook’s work is featured in prints for the New Mexico Symphony, Music from Angel Fire, and the Santa Fe Opera.

BLUE SKIES UP ABOVE features a n

painter William Hook. The artist, wh Mexico and Carmel, California, is kn portrayal of the southwest landscape, a in modern painting. Both styles

new body of work by American Landscape ho splits his time between Santa Fe, New nown for his distinct perspective and vivid and most recently, his evolving exploration will be present in Blue Skies Above.

Adobe Noon 24x36 acrylic

Hook introduced his abstract paintings in 2018 as direct reflections of representational works. The preceding page shows the representational companion to the piece on this page. Blue skies, adobe structure, yellow and green field with a red blanketed figure and her dog - both paintings the same, but different.

Carmel No 14 16x12 acrylic

Beach Panache 12x12 acrylic

Carmel Beach No 1 12x12 acrylic

Summer Window 24x36 acrylic

Santa Fe No 20

12x24 acrylic

O’Keefe Cliffs 24x30 acrylic

Santa Fe No 16 24x18 acrylic

Santa Fe No 23 24x18 acrylic

Afternoon Apologue portrays a bright tu

graphed along the High Road to Taos. Whe a graffiti tag on the exterior wall, which the mismatched paint. Off to the side of the sli birdbath, while the front window reflects a purposefully provide an open-ended

urquoise house that Hook has often photoen observed closely, the viewer can discern e homeowner has attempted to cover with ightly skewed structure is a cat nestled in a a mountainous landscape. These elements d narrative for the viewer to interpret. previous spread: Afternoon Apologue 18x36 acrylic

Santa Fe No 21 12x12 acrylic

Santa Fe No 22 12x12 acrylic

Sonoran Spring 12x12 acrylic

High Road Spring 12x12 acrylic

June Bouquet 24x24 acrylic

UFO 24x24 acrylic

Just Walkin’ Down the Street is one representation-

al work that portrays an adobe structure on what appears to be Canyon Road, juxtaposed by a bright turquoise door and a Native American figure cloaked in orange...

Just Walkin’ Down the Street 24x24 acrylic

...Hook abstracts the same scene for Do Wa Didi, a lyrical response to Just Walkin’ Down the Street focused on form, line and color.

This is how Hook introduced his abstract paintings in 2018 – as direct reflections of representational works.

Do Wa Didi 24x24 acrylic

Scotland’s Autum

mn 12x24 acrylic

Carmel No 10 14x18 acrylic

Carmel No 12 11x14 acrylic

Yellow Mesa 14x11 acrylic

Dixon Country 9x9 acrylic

As Hook settles into his process of abstraction, he is creating abstract paintings that stand alone, allowing the viewer to imagine their own interpretations. Such is the case with the other modern paintings for this exhibition, which are largely inspired by abstract elements such as composition, balance, color and harmony, rather than a specific scene or place.

previous spread: Sunny Side Up 18x36 acrylic

Blue Sky 24x24 acrylic

Santa Fe No 18 12x16 acrylic

Santa Fe No 19 12x12 acrylic

High Tide at Sundown 16x20 acrylic

Chama CaĂąon 12x12 acrylic

Sangre Aspen

12x24 acrylic

Adobe Noon 24x36

$10,500

Afternoon Apologue 18x36

$9,100

Beach Panache 12x12

$3,400

Blue Sky 24x24

$8,100

Carmel Beach No 1 12x12

$3,400

Carmel No 10

14x18

$4,500

Carmel No 12 11x14

$3,500

Carmel No 14 16x12

$3,900

Chama Cañon 12x12

$3,400

Dixon Country 9x9

$1,900

Do Wa Didi 24x24

$8,100

High Road Spring 12x12

$3,400

High Tide at Sundown 16x20

$6,500

June Bouquet 24x24

$8,100

Just Walking Down the Street

$8,100

24x24

O’Keefe Cliffs 24x30

$9,800

Sangre Aspen

12x24

$6,300

Santa Fe No 16 24x18

$7,000

Santa Fe No 18 12x16

Santa Fe No 19 12x12

$4,100

Santa Fe No 20 12x24

$6,100

Santa Fe No 21 12x12

$3,400

Santa Fe No 22 12x12

$3,4000

Santa Fe No 23 24x18

$7,000

Scotland’s Autumn 12x24

$6,100

Sonoran Spring 12x12

$3,400

Summer Window 24x36

$10,500

Sunny Side Up

18x36

$9,100

UFO 24x24

$8,100

Yellow Mesa 14x11

$3,800

$3,400

WILLIAM C. HOOK EDUCATION 1970-72 Art Center College of Design - Los Angeles, CA 1969 Universita Italiana per Straniere - Perugia, Italy 1966-70 BFA, Fine Art - University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM 1963-66 Kansas City Art Institute - Kansas City, MO SELECTED INVITATIONAL & MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS 2014 “Windows to the Divine” Colorado Dominican Vocation Foundation National Invitational - Denver, CO 2013 Friends of Western Art - Artists of the Year Invitational - Amerind Museum, Dragoon, AZ David Cook Galleries - Art of the National Parks - Denver, CO 2012 Autry Center of the American West - California Art Club 101st Annual Gold Medal

Juried Exhibition - Los Angeles, CA Saks Galleries – Small Gems - 100 Artists From Across America American Art Invitational - Denver, CO The Albuquerque Museum Foundation – Miniatures/ & More 2012 Invitational Show – Albuquerque, NM California Art Club - Monumental Miniatures III - Signature Artist Member Invitational - Pasadena, CA MUSEUM COLLECTIONS Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum – Tucson, AZ The Denver Art Museum - Denver, CO The Forbes Museum - New York, NY Genesee Museum - Mumford, NY Pioneer’s Museum - Colorado Springs, CO The Tucson Art Museum - The John Goodman Collection - Tucson, AZ The University of New Mexico Fine Arts Museum - Albuquerque, NM AWARDS/HONORS 2014 Windows to the Divine - Artist of the Year Award 2013 Friends of Western Art - Artist of the Year Award 2013 Mountain Oyster Club – Wieghorst Award, Members voted Best in Show 2008 Mountain Oyster Club – Wieghorst Award, Members voted Best in Show 2005 Artist-in-Residence - Big Sur Land Trust/Brazil Ranch – Big Sur, CA 2004 Music From Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival - Featured Poster Artist 2003 Carmel Plein Air Festival - Best Local Artist 2002 Carmel Plein Air Festival - Honorable Mention 2000 Carmel Plein Air Festival - co-winner Best of Show 2000

Artists of America - Master Artist

Award

BLUE SKIES UP ABOVE | A ONE MAN SHOW DISTINCTIVE COLLECTIONS AOL/Time Warner - New York, NY Banc One - Denver, CO Blockbuster Video Headquarters - Houston, TX Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher – New York, NY Guarantee Bank and Trust - Denver, CO Erivan & Helga Haub Western Art Collection – Wiesbaden, Germany FORBES Magazine – New York, NY Founders Asset Management, Inc. - Denver, CO Holland and Hart, Attys. -at-law - Denver, CO Indonesian Secretary of State Raymond James Collection - Dallas, TX R.J. Bank and Company, Inc. - Tampa, FL Texaco World Headquarters – New York, NY World Trade Center - Los Angeles, CA SPECIAL COMMISSIONS Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Tucson, AZ Affiliated Bank Shares of Colorado - Denver, CO AmFirst Bank – Denver, CO Bank of Ireland – Dublin, Ireland Chevron Corporation - San Francisco, CA Denver Convention Center - Denver, CO First National Bank of Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs, CO Metro Bank - Denver, CO Texaco International Headquarters - New York, NY

MEYER GALLERY 225 CANYON ROAD SANTA FE NM 87501 WWW.MEYERGALLERIES.COM 505.983.1434