31/10-3/11
SOFA 20
www.sofaexpo.com

From beginning to end, William Morris will take us on a journey of his creative process, spawned by a voracious return to the studio since his retirement in 2007. Throughout his travels across the globe, Morris has been witness to different cultures hanging objects of harvest. From farm equipment to food and textiles, he has become fascinated with the act of displaying symbols of offering and abundance. In his Mazorca series he brings ceremony to everyday objects stating that “[Mazorca] was about [the objects] that surround our process of life when it comes to sustenance and nourishment- things that are our bounty and yet our demise.”

Morris returns to this momentous body of work with a fresh eye and perspective by fashioning smaller, collectible versions in never seen before compositions. Exclusive, precious works will be introduced for the first time at Wexler Gallery/ SOFA Chicago. These unique treasures, born from the same spirit as Mazorca, offer a rare opportunity to collect what was once only available as a spectacle to behold in a museum.
During SOFA Chicago 2013, William Morris will make his first public appearance since his retirement during a panel discussion entitled “William Morris: Living Nature.” Via Skype, Morris will speak to his deep interest in the cyclical relationships found in nature and the aesthetic motifs that he has adopted in order to communicate his understanding of this living exchange. Additional speakers will include two individuals who have had the opportunity to know William Morris on a profound level: James Yood, who has written several books and essays about William Morris and teaches contemporary art history and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago, and John Andres, the director of William Morris's film Creative Nature and the Co-founder and Director of Spot Creative in New York.

William Morris’ artistic influence is further felt and beautifully realized in his first curatorial endeavor entitled “Living Nature,” a show including his seven original crew members that explores their personal and artistic encounters with glass and the natural world. Consciously or subconsciously, working closely with Morris for many years has impacted each of these artist’s relationships to Nature and the mythologies associated with our living world. Here the viewer will have the opportunity to discover these subtle influences - illusive and tenuous, dominant and governing, or deliberately absent. The original seven include Rik Allen, Kimberley Haugh, Holly Lyman, Kelly O’Dell, Ross Richmond, Randy Walker and Karen Willenbrink.
In addition to these exciting new projects, examples of secondary market masterworks by makers such as Stanislav Libensky & Jaroslava Brychtova, Harvey Littleton, Dan Dailey, Joel Philip Myers, Mark Peiser, Dan Clayman, Tom Patti, and Dale Chihuly will also be on view. Excellent examples of unique and innovative design works will also be featured including Vivian Beer, Andy Paiko, Phillipp Aduatz, Timothy Schreiber and Howard Werner.
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Wexler Gallery
201 North 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
+1(215) 923-7030
www.wexlergallery.com