MUSEUM OF ARTSONOMA VALLEY

Media Contact:

Maggie Sowell

msowell@svma.org

(707) 939-7862 x14

WALL & ARDOR: WILLIAM T. WILEY IN THE 20TH CENTURY

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

May 10 through July 27 2014

Over a period of fifty years, William T. Wiley

has distinguished himself as an artist whose

extensive body of work has consistently

defied mainstream contemporary art. As

one of the most well-known and celebrated

California artists alive today, his work has

been seen in the Venice Biennale, Whitney

Biennial, Documenta V and the Carnegie

International. In 1979 the Walker Art Center

in Minneapolis presented a retrospective in

celebration of the Museum’s opening and

thirty years later, in 2009, the Smithsonian

American Art Museum honored him with

another wide ranging retrospective that was

seen both in Washington DC and at the Berkeley Art Museum. Joann Mose, co-

curator of this retrospective wrote, “This exhibition…affirms his significance as

an artist of national stature whose accomplishment resonates well beyond the

region in which he has chose to live and time period when he first achieved

recognition.”

In spite of his international recognition, Wiley’s activist political and social spirit

and his early commitment to the environment render him an essentially Bay Area

artist. Peter Selz, Co Curator and Professor Emeritus of Modern Art at UC

Berkeley writes that Wiley, working in his Woodacre studio in West Marin,

“creates innovative, highly personal works of art in many media that combine a

personal sense of irony with commanding craftsmanship. Painting for Wiley is

intertwined with language. Word and image seduce the viewer to experience

the unexpected.”

With titles such as, “No Bell Prys for Peace with Predator Drone,” “Abstraction

Interrupted by leaky Wicks,” and “The Easter Eye Lands,” his playful sensibility

and sense of humor contribute to his unique ability to confront complicated and

multi-faceted components of politics, art, and the human condition in accessible

and multi-layered ways.

“Punch and the Great Abstraction,” 2005.

Kate Eilertsen, Director for Sonoma Valley Museum of Art says, “Spanning

media from music to painting and from poetry to watercolor, Wiley is an artist

that uses his great wit to express his controversial opinions. He can make you

laugh and cry in the same moment.”

A feature of this exhibition is the full-scale mock up of a wall in his studio,

replete with drawings, watercolors, and notes, creating an atmosphere wherein

visitors can experience and engage with Wiley’s artwork not merely visually and

intellectually, but physically as well. Several interactive projects and games will

be available for people of all ages, making the exhibition filled with inspiration

and a great spirit of fun.

Additional images and information for works in the exhibition are available upon

request.

About the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art:

Established in 1998, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is a membership

supported 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that provides seasonal exhibitions of

contemporary and modern art and educational and public programming for

children, youth and adults. Its mission is to be, “a magnet of creative energy and

cultural inspiration with exhibitions and educational programs that engage the

community in the art and ideas of our time, encouraging curiosity and

innovation.”

The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is located at 551 Broadway, one half block

up from Sonoma’s historic Plaza. Regular Museum hours are 11am–5pm

Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults. Children k–12 are

admitted free, as are SVMA members. Additional information is available at

www.svma.org or by calling (707) 939-7862.