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William Solomon, born in 1950 in San Diego, CA, has been painting
professionally for 35 years. Twenty of those years, however, were
dedicated to the Southern California film industry. He has more
recently returned his attention to his personal work, and has produced
a large, distinct, and growing body of art. Operating primarily in
portraiture, a sensitivity and intimate understanding of his subjects
is immediately apparent in all his pieces. His subjects are primarily
close family and friends, and this, combined with the often separate
visible brush strokes, lends a nostalgic, almost family-album-like
quality to his work. His paintings are heart-warming and engrossing,
at once vivid snapshots, full of movement and light.
In addition to painting, he is interested in sculpture and conceptual artwork that challenges many of his audience's preconceived notions about what it means to be a work of art. He counts Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Chuck Close, and Van Gogh as his most admired influences. Very much a product of Southern California, his ideas are informed by a broad range of cultural influences and the amalgamation of his life's experiences: from Rauschenberg's aerial photographs to the Hollywood aesthetic, from Zen Buddhism and Judaism to pervasive Los Angeles stereotypes, from suburban culture to the hippie movement, from Joni Mitchell to gangsta rap. Besides art, Bill enjoys being outdoors, hiking, spending time with his children, and walking his dog Bear. |