William Cannings b. 1970 — William Cannings spent time in his youth working in automotive shops where he familiarized himself with the tools and equipment needed to support his current day art practice and satisfy his hands-on approach to making. Today, the artist has mastered an innovative process of working with three of the four classical elements of nature: steel, heat, and air. Each finished sculpture appears buoyant despite its heavy material, creating a dichotomy of hard and soft, weightlessness and heft.
Cannings’ work employs deception. His use of color and material mislead the viewer into thinking these works are something they are not. Instead, Cannings has taken this ephemeral quality and made it into a lasting and tactile work of art. His works invite touch, and when we do touch them, we immediately see that our expectations are subverted when our hand hits the steel. His work plays with movement and space, sometimes dangling above us or pushing directly into our presence. No matter the size or color, Cannings work beckons us to come closer and be both mystified and delighted by his sculptures.
William Cannings is originally from Manchester, England and currently lives and works in Lubbock, TX with his wife, Shannon Cannings, also a fine artist, and his two daughters. He received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA from Syracuse University. He is Professor of Sculpture at Texas Tech University. In 2004, he helped to reinvigorate the Texas Sculpture Symposium, a brand of the Sculpture Network of Texas, where he continues today as an active member.
William Cannings exhibits frequently across the United States including in New York, Miami, New Mexico, and Texas. He was one of four artists chosen for a solo exhibition at the 2009 Texas Biennial. Cannings has shown at CWFA in four solo exhibitions: Fragments, Getting Back to Basics, Vetted, and Soft Cell. He has also been included in other group exhibitions at CWFA, including the Dallas Art Fair. Recently, Cannings created an original piece of 30 inflated steel clouds for the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. His works are seen publicly in the permanent collection of the William P. Clements, Jr. University Hospital at UTSW Medical Center, Dallas, TX; City of Houston, William P Hobby Airport, Houston, TX; Texas Sculpture Walk, Hall Arts Hotel, Dallas, TX; Metal Museum, Memphis, TN; and the HOLT CAT Headquarters, San Antonio, TX. Likewise, he is featured in the canonical publication, Texas Artists Today.
