The Art Of Bill King And Ross Watts At Duck Creek

The Arts Center at Duck Creek will present “William King: Sculpture” in the John Little Barn, opening on Saturday, June 11, and on view through July 10. A reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 12.

A major figure in contemporary American sculpture, Bill King (1925-2015) was a consistent presence in both the New York and East End arts communities for over six decades. A true vanguard, King bucked the trend of abstract expressionism, creating figurative works that for generations have been embraced for their unique humor and energy. This exhibit will feature King’s carved wood and polychrome sculptures, which display the artist’s unique ability to depict humanity with great authenticity.

King was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and grew up in Coconut Grove near Miami. After attending the University of Florida between 1942 and 1944, he came to New York in 1945, enrolling that year at Cooper Union and graduating in 1948. The following year he went to Rome on a Fulbright scholarship. He spent much time abroad, taught at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, and U.C. Berkeley, amongst other schools. He served as the president of the National Academy of Design, 1994-1998 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2003.

One of his earliest solo exhibitions was with the Alan Gallery, New York in 1954, and he continued to show in New York City through 2014. He received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grant, the San Francisco Arts Commission Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sculpture, and Honorary Doctorates from the San Francisco Art Institute, the California College of Arts and Crafts, and the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C.

Also on view at the Arts Center at Duck Creek from June 11 to July 10 will be “and nothing turned itself inside-out,” a social media inspired multimedia installation by artist Ross Watts. The show opens with a reception on Sunday, June 12, from 4 to 6 p.m.

The installation holds up a mirror to Watts’s experience — and arguably the experience of many of us — living through the strange times of a pandemic.

“This work evolved out of distraction. In the midst of the pandemic, scrolling, looking, liking became a daily ritual, bordering on addiction,” Watts said. “In a precarious time where isolation was suddenly the norm, it became a way of connecting to the world outside.”

The resulting installation comprises a series of images in grids, a large collage of 729 appropriated images, and a video of confounding variables setting out the process. It takes a conceptual approach to social media — exploring the ways Instagram’s grid format and the algorithm’s invisible hand have impacted our visual lexicon.

“and nothing turned itself inside-out” reflects on recurring themes in Watts’ work and in social media, including a fascination with mathematical composition and language, and a firm belief in an agonizing persistence toward “perfection” through repetition.

With this installation, Watts moves beyond a preoccupation with materials to a focus on meaning, influenced by Herman Hesse, Jorge Borges and contemporary appropriation artists. As a search for meaning in an infinite simulated landscape, the exhibition provides a kind of self portrait of the artist. But it also challenges viewers to ask their own questions about virtual culture, and how the images on display — appropriated from appropriations — derive their own new meanings from proximity to each other.

The Arts Center at Duck Creek is at 127 Squaw Road in East Hampton. Visit duckcreekarts.org for more information.