left: Summer Pond, 2007, oil on canvas, 60x72"
center: Rio Grande Gorge with Magpies, 2007, oil on canvas, 60x72"
right: Roadrunner Southwest of Marfa, TX, 2007, oil on canvas,
60x72"
Inspired by nature, Billy Hassell’s work combines
elements of abstraction and representation. While never entirely abandoning
recognizable subject matter, he composes with an abstract sensibility,
emphasizing image with a dramatic use of color and a whimsical use of
pictorial space. Images of nature, birds in particular, and fragments
of landscape recur frequently throughout his work.
In the newest works, shapes are simplified, fragmented and arranged in
a shallow space. The emblematic forms and silhouettes, like hieroglyphs
in a language of signs and symbols, suggest an underlying narrative.
Selected Exhibitions:
Meredith Long & Company, Houston, TX
M B Modern, New York, NY
Scott Alan Gallery, New York, NY
William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
DW Gallery, Dallas, TX
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
The Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview, TX