William A. Berry         EXHIBITION HISTORY

Self-Portrait (Detail)
Graphite on White Paper, 29" x 22", Signed and Dated  1986

EXHIBITIONS:

Contemporary Artists' Self-Portraits, Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas, April 7-May 31, 1988.

Solo Exhibition, Margaret Harwell Art Museum, Poplar Bluff, Missouri, July 5-August 3, 1988.

Solo Exhibition, Brunnier Art Gallery and Museum, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, August 30-October 9, 1988.

Lifetime Achievement Showcase Professors of Art Emeriti Part I, George Caleb Bingham Gallery, University of Missouri-Coumbia, June 2-July 10, 2008.

PUBLICATIONS:

Catalogue, Contemporary Artists' Self-Portraits, Salina, Kansas, April 7-May 31, 1988. The curators’ statement aptly describes many of Berry’s self-portraits of this period:  

"William Berry’s self-portraits show that the artist’s main concern is with likenesses, but using a somewhat abstract vocabulary…. Berry works heavily on the features of the face, and lightly sketches the upper part of his head and shirt. The angularity of the planes and lines sharply contrast with the intense look in the artist’s eyes. The drawing is reinforced by the delicate modeling and finely rendered details yet there is an energy of execution. Berry’s style of drawing recalls that of Giacometti’s in which the artist works and reworks the surface in order to capture the changes of the face. The narrow lead, the gray color; and the shiny character of the graphite is best suited for a cool style of drawing. Berry is exploring the tradition of looking with a fresh eye and perceiving the pictorial potentials of his familiar physique."