William Cannings

Cris Worley Fine Arts is pleased to announce, Getting Back to Basics, a solo exhibition of new works by gallery artist William Cannings. This is Cannings’ seventh solo exhibition with Cris Worley.

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.

Getting Back to Basics marks the artist’s return to an instinctual exploration of material and form. “I have been developing this process of inflating hard materials for 21 years now, and I’m still curious about what I can do with it both formally and conceptually,” says Cannings. “It is important for me to make and let the making inform the next work, a sort of stream of consciousness sculpture. I am intrigued where this will take me.”

Lubbock, Texas based, Cannings also draws inspiration from the natural world, including the expansive skies of West Texas. In works such as Cloud and Silver Lining, the artist intentionally exposes the raw effects of inflated and stretched steel, mimicking the natural swirls of cloud formations. The sinuous, whip-like sculpture titled, Found and Fabricated integrates a native Texas vine with brightly colored steel of similar form.

William Cannings (b. 1970) 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. Cannings exhibits frequently across the United States including in New York, Miami, New Mexico and Texas. Recent public works include a monumental outdoor sculpture at the Hall Sculpture Walk, Hall Arts Hotel in downtown Dallas. His works are also seen publicly in the permanent collection of the William P. Clements, Jr. Hospital at UTSW Medical Center in Dallas, TX and the HOLT CAT Headquarters in San Antonio, TX. He was one of four artists chosen for a solo exhibition at the 2009 Texas Biennial that was reviewed with critical acclaim in Art in America. Likewise, he is highlighted in the canonical publication, Texas Artists Today, written by Catherine Anspon.

Getting Back to Basics

October 9 – November 13, 2021

Featured Works

Press Release