BILL BAKER
Profile
Bill lives on the Sunshine Coast BC. He is an, artist and residential designer specializing in green and off grid architecture. Bills interests continues to be how do we occupy space and how it is affected by light.
Bill Baker CV 2022
2022 – 1984: Professional Art practice, Contemporary sustainable architecture, and Public art.
1978 – 2005: Principal of R.U.I.N. a Design/Build firm that realized over 50 residential projects in BC, Ontario, Florida and Shikoku Japan.
1969 – 1977: Urban Planner for the city of Vancouver, and William Blakely and Associates.
1966 – 1969: Graphic Designer Hydro Quebec
1963 – 1965: Study art History at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris
Selected Exhibitions
2022 – “Bolt”, Group exhibition Studio 8440 Sechelt
2021 – “Sunsets” group show Studio 8440 Sechelt
2020 – “Vessels”, New works on paper, The Lab, Sunshine Coast BC
2016 – “The Language of Black”, The Lab, Sunshine Coast 2016
1997 – “Saõ Paulo Biennale” 1997 Brazil.
1997 – “H.Y Luie Building”, Vancouver BC Canada.
1991 – “Black and White”, Surrey art gallery
1991 – “Greenwood”, Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver, BC Canada
1990 – “The Real BC Show”, The Pitt Galley, Vancouver, BC Canada
1990 – “Expansions”, Catriona Jeffries Vancouver BC Canada.
1990 – “Annual Juried exhibition”, Vancouver Arts Council, Vancouver BC
1989 – “Galiano Series” Catriona Jeffries Vancouver BC Canada.
1989 – “Fear of Others Art Against Racism”, Vancouver BC
1988 – “Images and Objects”, BC Festival of the Arts, Kimberly BC
1988 – “Annual Juried Exhibition”, Vancouver Arts Council, BC
Public Art
2022 – 2003: Public Art Collaborations with Claudia Cuesta. Projects in North Vancouver, Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Maple Ridge, St. Louis, USA
Publications
2017 – Greg Bellerby, “Bill Baker Recent Work”
1991 – Roberta Stoker, “The Vancouver Arts Scene” CV Journal of the Arts
1990 – Art Perry, “Graphic Show Runs Gamut” The province
1990 – Ann Rosenberg, “Artist on the Up, Gathering a Vision” Vancouver Sun
1990 – Ann Rosenberg, “The real Home BC Home Show at the Pitt” Vancouver Sun
Recent Review
The Language of Black
This series of charcoal and oil pastel works on paper continues a tradition of geometric abstraction. The compositional structure and the layering of forms appear to have a relationship to architecture or at least to an articulation of space. Colour I used sparingly and the predominant colours are black along with areas of grey, contrasted with forms and shapes in high key colours. Edges and areas where the forms overlap create a spacial depth in otherwise flat surfaces. Our perception of them shifts back and forth from flat to deep space.
An important consideration in these works is the edges where two colours or tones meet. Some edges are sharp and defined while others are soft and layered. The point where these edges meet projects a distinct energy. As a trained architect Baker is keenly aware of the way forms come together, the way they connect or not, their relationship and the spaces between them.
The choice of materials has a particular effect surfaces as the charcoal and pastel are absorbed into the surface of the paper becoming part of it. The surface appears to have depth, the blacks are rich and dense and the colours are luminous. In several works the forms and colours overlap, almost if they are slipping over one another, creating an ambiguous sense of depth.
Most of the works are composed of areas of black or greys punctuated by smaller rectangles of bright colour in pink, red, yellow and blue, disrupting the surface or floating across it. I am reminded of the colours used by Spanish artist Juan Miro or the Mexican architect Luis Barragan. The majority of forms are geometrical with straight lines. A couple of works have more organic forms with uneven edges, breaking away from the hard-edged geometric works.
These abstract works reflect a personal expression and the process of their making. The simple appearance of these works belies their structural complexity. The surfaces are imbued with a verity of qualities from opaque to translucent, from hard to soft and from flat to deep space. They are about connections and connectedness. They represent a flux where forms meet or move apart. They are about fluidity, layering and absorption, a phenomenon that we see continually happening in both nature and the built environment.
Greg Bellerby, October 2016
