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Bronze
Dimensions: 12' x 18'
09/27/2019
Project Agency: McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, Oklahoma State University
Artwork Location: 705 W University Ave
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74074

The Artwork

Standing tall on the corner steps of the the McKnight Center for the Arts, DNA IV measures approximately 12 feet in height and 18 feet in width. Identifying characteristics, found throughout the Bill Barrett's DNA series, are the twisted ribbon shapes and the lyrically elegant, flowing, organic order of elements. A minimal footprint supports the twisting ribbon shapes that comprise the sculpture allowing expansion upward and outward while creating balance. The open, negative spaces between connected shapes are as important in experiencing the sculpture as the bronze fabricated shapes. Bill Barrett is a sculptor, painter and jeweler. He is considered a central figure in the second generation of American metal sculptors and is internationally known for his abstract sculptures in steel, aluminum and bronze.

The Artist

Considered a central figure in the second generation of American metal sculptors, Barrett is a Los Angeles native who has been exhibiting his unique metal sculptures and abstract paintings since the mid-1960s. Aside from the United States, his work has been featured in places such as Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria and Japan. Barrett is represented in numerous private and public collections and his sculptural work was the focus of an exhibition titled “Action Abstraction,” hosted by the OSU Museum of Art in 2017-2018.