Bill Claps is a visual artist, photographer and filmmaker based in New York City. His work illustrates the universal roots and common elements that are shared by all cultures, often referencing art history and language. He works in various mediums, including photography, painting, video, poetry, and performance, and his pieces have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Bill earned a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University, where he studied painting and art history. He studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League in New York and in Florence, Italy. His paintings, drawings, and videos have been presented in exhibitions in museums, galleries, and institutions internationally.
Claps’ creative process begins with photos he captures from around the world. “Natural Abstractions Florida” features photos of the quintessential Floridian flora: Palm trees and ferns, as well as the lush foliage of the Everglades which preside over expanses of clear sky and ocean horizons. Mounted onto canvas, the photographs are enhanced with gold foiling, using a technique he has developed over the years. This process adds layers and surfaces that embolden the natural forms, creating intriguing texture and forming works that reflect light and mimic that which is found in nature. His final step is to paint onto the surface of the work, further enhancing the images and texture. Each work is executed in a positive and negative version, in order to articulate the duality and balance that is the basis of much of oriental culture.
Gallery Exhibitions
2024, “Natural Abstractions Florida” (solo)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023.
“Natural Abstractions V”, Volta Art Fair, New York, NY, with Laurent Marthaler Contemporary
2021. “Natural Abstractions Switzerland”, Petra Gut Contemporary, St. Moritz, Switzerland
“The Ides of Spring”, Keyes Gallery, New York, NY
2020
“Natural Abstractions IV”, Keyes Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2019
“Origins”, Evey Fine Art, Palm Beach, Florida
“The Metaphysics of Nature II”, Chi Sun Hin Gallery, Beijing, China
2018
“The Metaphysics of Nature”, Wutong Yard Art Space, Beijing, China
“Natural Abstractions III”, Keyes Art Projects, Palm Springs, California
“Natural Abstractions III”, Keyes Art Projects, Palm Beach, Florida
“Bill Claps: Recent Works”, Chi Sun Hin Gallery, Beijing, China
2017
“Artspeak”, MOMA Tbilisi, Tbilisi, Georgia
“Faces No. 3”, Galerie 55 Bellechase, Paris, France
“Explorations in Morse”, Samuel Morse Museum, Poughkeepsie, NY
“Natural Abstractions II”, International Club, Wellington, Florida
“In Gold We Must”, Rive Gallery, Westport, CT
“Recent Works”, Exhibit Gallery, Tulsa, OK
2016
“Natural Abstractions”, Spazzio Garibaldi 77, Milan, Italy
“Gilded & Unframed”, Gallery@1, Gstaad, Switzerland
2015
“Recent Works”, Exhibit Gallery, Tulsa, O.K.
“Pastoral Landscape, Present Tense”, Solomon Arts Gallery, New York, NY, two person show
2014
“Enduring Conundrum”, Evartspace, Geneva, Switzerland
“Artspeak”, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Palazzo Corsini, Rome, Italy
2013
“Sum of the Parts”, Art for China Foundation, New York, N.Y.
2011
“From Line to Pixel”, Solomon Arts Gallery, N.Y, N.Y. , Two person show
2007
“Recent Works”, Rockwell Fine Art, Westport, CT.
2006
“Figurative Expressions”, Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich, CT.
“Autumn Passage”, Kismet Gallery, Westport, CT.
“Recent Works”, N.Y. Mercantile Exchange Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2005
Solo Show, Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
“Gallery Artists”, Minima Gallery, Mykonos, Greece
“Summer Group Exhibition”, Keyes Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
2021
“Summer Group Exhibition”, Keyes Art Gallery, Nantucket, Ma
“Gallery Artist”, Keyes Art Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
2020
“Morality/Skull Exhibition (name TBD)”, curated by Donald Kuspit, American University Museum, Washington, DC
“Artisti che Collezionano Artisti”, National Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM), Rome, Italy ; Museo Canonica Villa Borghese, Museo
Bilotti; Museo di Roma in Trastevere; Museo Napoleonico: Rome Italy
2019
“Fifteen Minutes: A Tribute to Warhol”, Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI (Three person show with Julien Opie and Peter Dayton)
“Harmonic Collaboration”, Art 33 Gallery, Hangzhao, China (Two person show with sculptor Lin Gang)
“All that Glitters”, Keyes Art Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY (Three person show with Peter Reginato & Duncan Chamberlain)
“Beyond Photography”, Laurent Marthaler Contemporary, Montreux, Switzerland
“Inaugural Exhibition”, Keyes Art Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
“If the Next Level is Real”, Laurent Marthaler Contemporary, Montreux, Switzerland
2018
“Character Cultivation Can Not Be Taught by the Teacher”, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
“Gallery Artists”, Marciano Contemporary, Paris, France
“Artists in Aso”, Kumomoto, Japan
“Hello”, Keyes Art, East Hampton, NY
“No Longer Supported”, Sara Nightengale Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
“Around the Clock”, Gallery 88.5, New York, NY
2017
“The Collection”, R Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2016
“Gallery Artists”, Salomon Arts Gallery, New York, NY
2015
“Respond”, Smack Mellon Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Artspeak Installation”, The (un)Fair, New York, NY (commission during Armory Week)
“Artmix”, Evartspace, Geneva, Switzerland
“Anniversary Show: 21’st Precinct”, Judith Charles Gallery, New York, NY
2014 “The Skull Show”, Curated by Carrie Lederer, Bedford Gallery at the
Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
“21st Precinct”, Curated by Rob Aloia, 21st Precinct Space, New York, N.Y
“Tribeca Pioneer Artists Exhibition”, Salomon Arts Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2013
“Curate NYC”, Gallery Brooklyn, Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Gallery Artists”, Exhibit Gallery, Tulsa, O.K.
2012
“2012 Benefit Show”, White Box, New York, N.Y.
2011
“Curate NYC”, Rush Arts Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2009
“Group Exhibition”, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, N.Y.
2008
“Vibrance”, Henry Gregg Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Exhibition 19”, 14thStreet Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2007
“Exhibition 18”, 14thStreet Gallery, New York, N.Y.
“Group Exhibition”, Canco Gallery, Jersey City, N.J.
2006
”Gallery Artists”, Aspen Fine Arts Gallery, Aspen, Co.
2005
”Gallery Artists”, Aspen Fine Arts Gallery, Aspen, Co.
“Exhibition 16”, 14th Street Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2004
“Summer Exhibition”, D. D. & B. Gallery, Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Small Works”, Washington Square East Galleries, New York, N.Y.
Sanscriti Foundation, New Delhi, India, 2020
LAMO Artist in Residence Program, Ladakh, India, 2020
Sudan Residency, Aswan, Egypt, 2019
Artist in Aso Residency, Aso, Japan, 2018
The Wassaic Project Residency, Wassaic, New York, 2017
Apiary Studios Residency, London, England, 2015