Bill Conger: "lesser blue"

Main Gallery: Bill Conger's new artwork is often an exploration of refinement that is physical, emotional, and grandiose, and paired with a rawness where process confronts memory and myth, both belabored by today's societal expectations and those worthy of close examination.

Conger’s work is characterized by his conversational engagement coupled with his casual accumulation of information through objects. His immediacy to process his findings is focused on urban life and how we relate to it.  With awareness of his evolution and growth, change is the result of combining past processes and re-interpretation of his personal experiences, always with a nod to the present. To move forward, there must be an acceptance of the permutation of common objects. As viewers, we must acknowledge that progress is accomplished discreetly, and we must embrace the difference.

Specifically, his series of magazine ads and societal occurrences are more like snapshots of accidental moments-- capturing fleeting thoughts and emotions. These works are relevant and they give the viewer a uniquely intimate insight into human experiences. Bill Conger's scale is commanding, his materials unconventional, and his gestures loaded with authenticity.

Sometimes his images draw from the past, producing a line that takes us back as far as the Renaissance, up to the modern ideology of the AbEx masters. But no matter the results, they are always of his own hand.  Often his painterly tendencies persist, captured in his one-of-a-kind visual compositions which focus on subtlety, texture, and genuine touch.

Conger's inclusion of commercial advertising, everyday language, and a less-than-serious approach to form, subject matter, and resolution gives validation to his curiosity. His creations are personal and immediate. Through them, he shares his observations, his joy, and his anxiety.  We unsuspectingly enter his world and psyche.

In its contemporary context, Bill Conger's new conceptual sculptural works pose a conflicting yet dual significance with his use of materials and process.  Whether they be inverted candles, discarded bottles or thrift store decorative objects, they all congeal in a distilled way to create an allusion, which is true visual poignance.

Does Conger leave prior cultural statements behind by employing such poetic declarations that feed into commercialism? He grapples with current political issues and corporate greed. He makes those issues Contemporary through good art.

His artwork utilizes simple elements we cannot comprehend. But the truth is Bill Conger nudges us into confronting the constant visual overload we experience daily. It gives us time to consider, through self-examination, what is important in our lives. As an artist, he reminds us he is imperfect, but his love for creating art demonstrates that, without consideration, his art is vital.

We would certainly be at a greater loss if we had not seen his work and were challenged to understand Contemporary minimalist works. His quiet energy has no noise.