Bill Conger: lesser blue

Main Gallery

Exhibition Statement:

Bill Conger's new artwork is often an exploration of refinement that is physical, emotional, and grandiose, and paired with a rawness where process confronts memory and myth, both belabored by today's societal expectations and those worthy of close examination.

Conger’s work is characterized by his conversational engagement coupled with his casual accumulation of information through objects. His immediacy to process his findings is focused on urban life and how we relate to it. With awareness of his evolution and growth, change is the result of combining past processes and re-interpretation of his personal experiences, always with a nod to the present. To move forward, there must be an acceptance of the permutation of common objects. As viewers, we must acknowledge that progress is accomplished discreetly, and we must embrace the difference.

Specifically, his series of magazine ads and societal occurrences are more like snapshots of accidental moments-- capturing fleeting thoughts and emotions. These works are relevant and they give the viewer a uniquely intimate insight into human experiences. Bill Conger's scale is commanding, his materials unconventional, and his gestures loaded with authenticity.

Sometimes his images draw from the past, producing a line that takes us back as far as the Renaissance, up to the modern ideology of the AbEx masters. But no matter the results, they are always of his own hand. Often his painterly tendencies persist, captured in his one-of-a-kind visual compositions which focus on subtlety, texture, and genuine touch.

Conger's inclusion of commercial advertising, everyday language, and a less-than-serious approach to form, subject matter, and resolution gives validation to his curiosity. His creations are personal and immediate. Through them, he shares his observations, his joy, and his anxiety. We unsuspectingly enter his world and psyche.

In its contemporary context, Bill Conger's new conceptual sculptural works pose a conflicting yet dual significance with his use of materials and process. Whether they be inverted candles, discarded bottles or thrift store decorative objects, they all congeal in a distilled way to create an allusion, which is true visual poignance.

Does Conger leave prior cultural statements behind by employing such poetic declarations that feed into commercialism? He grapples with current political issues and corporate greed. He makes those issues Contemporary through good art.

His artwork utilizes simple elements we cannot comprehend. But the truth is Bill Conger nudges us into confronting the constant visual overload we experience daily. It gives us time to consider, through self-examination, what is important in our lives. As an artist, he reminds us he is imperfect, but his love for creating art demonstrates that, without consideration, his art is vital.

We would certainly be at a greater loss if we had not seen his work and were challenged to understand Contemporary minimalist works. His quiet energy has no noise.

Becoming Aware

Lisa Anderson

Project Space

Exhibition Statement:

This series of photographs carries multiple objectives, representing an exploration of various methods, materials, and technologies available through the medium of Photography. It also represents a narrative that calls attention to the societal expectations placed on women, and the pressures we place on ourselves as a result. It is about how we as women interact with our world, and some of the different ways we may view ourselves.

The photos may invoke feelings of nostalgia, or a time that has passed, but in fact, there is no indication of any time period in which the subject is placed. From the lens of today, one might feel the weight of past generations, the effects of advertising, or expectations placed on us by ourselves and others. The images are intended to reveal a continuum of feeling, over any idea of resolution. There is nothing that shows us an end is just around the corner, happy or otherwise. Photography as an artistic medium interests me in the way that it can capture a reality that the artist creates, or wants the viewer to see. Through its implied objectivity, it allows the viewer to focus more on the subject matter, over the materials used to create it. In this series, moments were captured with various formats, including digital, 35mm film, and a pinhole camera. Digital cameras are great for experimenting with composition and exposure because the user is allowed essentially endless attempts to find the right balance. 35mm film has a larger dynamic range and grain structure that simply can’t be impersonated by digital sensors or software. I also enjoy the dark room processes and all of the traditional craft associated with it. Pinhole photography is challenging because of the variables involved, such as finding the right exposure time. It is fun to be surprised by interesting light artifacts produced by the way light bounces off of the frayed edges as it enters the small pinhole of the camera.

Though I enjoy the materials and processes of photography, I ultimately want to direct the viewer to the subject matter, the realities and narratives I want them to see. This is why the medium works for this series. Photography has a way of objectively capturing something that the viewer can easily identify as reality, in a way that other mediums such as painting and drawing cannot, allowing the viewer to focus on the subject in the frame.

The opening reception for this exhibition will be August 1st, 5-8:00 p.m.

The work will be on view August 1, 2025 – August 29, 2025

Gallery events are always free and open to the public.