CRIS WORLEY FINE ARTS

Cris Worley Fine Arts is pleased to announce, Fragments, a solo exhibition of new works by galleryartist William Cannings. This is Cannings’s eighth solo exhibition with Cris Worley.

William Cannings spent time in his youth working in automotive shops where he familiarizedhimself with the tools and equipment needed to support his current-day art practice and satisfy hishands-on approach to making. Today, the artist has mastered an innovative process of working withthree of the four classical elements of nature: steel, heat and air. Each finished sculpture appearsbuoyant despite its heavy material, creating a dichotomy of hard and soft, weightlessness and heft.

Fragments refers to the scraps and “castaway” pieces of steel that are not the original intention of themaking process. Over the years, Cannings has seen these leftover shapes, with their signature tears,twists, and folds, as work in themselves. “Chance” acts a co-partner, opening up the possibility thatthe creative path forward is not always the one first taken.

William Cannings (b. 1970) is originally from Manchester, England and currently lives and works inLubbock, TX with his wife, Shannon Cannings, also a fine artist. He received a BFA from VirginiaCommonwealth University and an MFA from Syracuse University. He is Professor of Sculpture atTexas Tech University. Cannings exhibits frequently across the United States including in NewYork, Miami, New Mexico, and Texas.

Recent public works include a large-scale permanent installation with the City of Houston at Gate 51at Hobby Airport, and a monumental outdoor sculpture at the Hall Sculpture Walk, Hall Arts Hotelin 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 inSan Antonio, TX. He was one of four artists chosen for a solo exhibition at the 2009 Texas Biennialthat was reviewed with critical acclaim in Art in America. Likewise, he is highlighted in the canonical publication, Texas Artists Today, written by Catherine Anspon.