With titles like ‘Jack Frost’ and ‘Starry Night’, the graphic work of Bill Zima may seem a cliché choice for a Winter Exhibition. It was however the originiality of Bill’s artwork that captivated me to look closer. Both at the striking detail, and the creator behind ‘Brunnera Macrophylla’ and ‘Heuchera’ – for the botanists out there who recognize these leaves by their correct names!
Jack Frost I , 20 x 20" Framed £600
Like many good finds, I happened upon the work of Bill Zima while ‘coffee browsing’ online one morning. Attracted by the graphic quality and the relationship between the strength of his work and the fragility of his subject, I floated off, just like a leaf.
Plectranthus edulis, 36 x 30", Framed £1250
Born in 1961 in a small town in Indiana, Bill studied fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He spent a year abroad, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, cultivating his practical skills whilst studying under the “stone-carving master of Europe”.
After graduating in 1990 Bill spend the next year perfecting encaustic painting, having been introduced to the material of beeswax in his final year of study. He was immediately drawn to the tactility and translucence of the medium and the romanticism of the surfaces. Early pieces saw him collect the remains of the stone carvings, the stone dust, and mix it with wax to create ethereal figurative pieces. The encaustic imagery evolved to abstraction and eventually took the form of minimalist color field paintings. His technique was unique and took seven years to develop the laborious encaustic process.
In 2003 Bill moved to Spain with his family and took a hiatus from the ‘exhibition circuit’, choosing to explore and develop new creative directions to reflect the extraordinary experience of living abroad. Visual vocabulary was refined and expression was explored using patterns to build up an image.
Bill then moved to Edinburgh in 2007 where he currently lives with his family. The landscape took Bill back to the very earliest drawings he had done as a three year old…this re-connection inspired the current bodies of work - Leaves and trees.
There’s always much more to an artist than their formal Bio though which is why I enjoy nothing more than a studio visit…
It was walking in to Bill’s studio, that the powerful scale of his work struck me. Visually impressive from afar his pieces pull the viewer in where the subtleties and complexities of the incredible detail are revealed. The work is deeply fascinating and truly engaging. The keen macro photographer in me, moving around the work as if to define my own optimum focal length!
So with a collection of original work and prints, what better focus for our woodland themed seasonal show. Here is a small selection of Bills work and our Winter show runs until the end of January 2018.
Wind Jammer Way, 20 x 20" Framed £600
Selection of 12 x 10" Prints - Framed £95, unframed £75
Available as 12 x 10" Print Framed £95 & unframed £75
Starry Night, 30 x 30" Framed £1000
For further details please contact amy@thefoundgallery.co.uk