Hank

See Bill Hall’s work in WTP Vol. VI #2

acrylic on hardboard
30” x 42”

When I was a kid, there was a small monthly magazine published by the Ford Motor Company called Ford Times. It was essentially an advertisement for Ford automobiles, but I always looked for the game page titled “What is it?” This page would show a photograph, focused on part of a common object, and challenge you to identify that object. What attracted me, as much as the game, was this partial view of something very small, making it look monumental.

The mystery of what was out of view, being cropped by the photo, has stayed with me and influenced my interest in reductive abstract images. Though Minimalism has been a strong influence on my use of flat, repetitious elements and grids, I prefer random designs with accidental marks and painterly qualities over cool, sleek geometry. In my work, shapes move in and out of the picture plane and surfaces are stained and scarred, as if seen from a topographical viewpoint. In this way, my work walks the line between the non-objective and objective reality.”

As master intaglio printer at Pace for twenty-seven years, Hall has collaborated on several hundred editions with noted artists, including Helen Frankenthaler, Jim Dine, Mary Heilman, Robert Mangold, Chuck Close, and James Turrell. During the 1990s, he assisted the renowned master printer, Aldo Crommelynck. Crommelynck is a national treasure in his native France, best known for his numerous collaborations with Pablo Picasso.