BIO
Growing up in a household where both parents were artists exposed Bill Basso to all types of art from a very young age. Combining equal amounts of horror movie magazines and comic books with Renaissance or Eastern European art, for example, helped to shape Bill's artistic sensibilities.
After graduating from the Parsons School of Design in New York where he received a BFA in illustration, Bill became interested in special effects for the film industry and eventually relocated from New Jersey to Glendale, California were he currently resides. He has contributed his artistry to many well known films. Edward Scissorhands, Terminator 2, Batman Returns, Jurassic Park and Interview with the Vampire among them.
For the past several years, Bill has been focused on developing his personal artistic vision, creating mixed media works as well as taking on freelance projects. His award winning work has been exhibited in a number of galleries as well as being featured in SPECTRUM and The Society of Illustrators art annuals.
ABOUT THE WORK
My work is a combination of various artistic disciplines including drawing, sculpture, photography, collage and painting. Used together, these allow me to create images of mystery, wonder, delight, sorrow and fear, which often take place in intimate stage-like settings.
The characters in my work exist in a distant, half-remembered, autumnal place where even Halloween can last forever. Images emerge through a cross-referencing of many artistic influences, memories and ideas. Ancient and flickering, monochrome films of the fantastic and macabre play continuously, running through rusted projectors. Long, silent corridors are hung with varnished, cracked paintings and brittle prints from another age, while rows of tall, wooden cabinets display bones and other arcane specimens behind panes of misted glass. In a lonely field of dry grasses under an overcast sky, sits an abandoned theater where puppets, props and painted backdrops are quietly waiting with peeling paint and thick dust. Up in a darkened attic, an antique trunk contains time worn books and comics, richly illustrated. It is here in this world of my subconscious that a childlike sense of fantasy and imagination can mingle with adult anxieties or dreams.
Although my work is photographically based, I would classify it as a form of mixed-media. I typically begin a piece by drawing and working out ideas on paper. This is followed by sculpting and constructing a series of miniature, doll-like characters or maquettes, as well as a variety of intricate handmade objects that are then photographed. These objects and constructions are made from all kinds of things like clay, cardboard, string, paper, wire, tape, wood, hair and odd bits of cloth. The photographs are processed in the computer. The basic image is made up of a number of different photos as well as scanned drawings...different objects and parts, all composed and manipulated using Adobe Photoshop. Once I have the basic composition created, I print out portions of the image in sections or pieces and, using collage techniques, build the final assemblage on a surface of canvas, panel or paper. Pieces are cut, torn and altered. They are also worked into with paint, pencil and other mixed-media, which adds a layered patina of color and texture. Aesthetic discoveries are made as subtle passages, rhythms and shapes reveal themselves within the layers of the work.
My process always begins in the same way, but occasionally a piece is completely finished using Adobe Photoshop, resulting in a limited edition print. Most of my pieces, however, are unique, or one of a kind mixed-media constructions. Using this painstaking battery of mixed-media techniques enables me to create handcrafted images and tactile artifacts that allow the viewer access into a dreamlike, theatrical world.
The utilization of handmade objects and environments done in miniature is partially an offshoot of my experiences creating special effect characters for the film industry, where completely artificial worlds and illusions are used to tell a story. In my case, I’m creating a frozen moment and that aspect of it relates more to painting and the types of photography that I’m interested in, particularly the early photographers and their use of pictorialism. As I'm working, it can feel as though I'm staging a tiny theater piece or perhaps curating a mysterious museum exhibit combined with a long ago forgotten sideshow of curiosities.
RESUME
Exhibitions:
2011 - Copro Nason Gallery, "CONJOINED" group show, Santa Monica, CA
The Parlour Gallery, "A TRIBUTE TO THE HAUNTED MANSION 2011" group show, Burbank, CA
2010 - The Parlour Gallery, "A TRIBUTE TO THE HAUNTED MANSION" group show, Burbank, CA
2009 - SPECTRUM 2 juried show, American Museum Of Illustration, New York, NY
Nucleus Gallery, "OCTOBER SHADOWS" show, Alhambra, CA
Copro Nason Gallery, "MONSTER?" show, Santa Monica, CA
The Parlour Gallery, "EVERY DAY IS HALLOWEEN" group show , Burbank CA
The Parlour Gallery, "EDGAR ALLAN POE" group show, Burbank CA
2008 - Society Of Illustrator's 50 annual juried show, American Museum of Illustration, New York, NY
2007 - Copro Nason Gallery, "DEVILISH GREETINGS" show, Santa Monica ,CA
2002 - Montrose/Verdugo Hills Chamber Of Commerce juried show, Glendale, CA
2001 - Brand 31 Works on Paper juried show, Brand Library and Art Center, Glendale, CA (PATRON AWARD)
1984 - Graduated Parsons School Of Design (BFA), New York, NY
Publications:
SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS 50
SPECTRUM15
SPECTRUM14 (GOLD AWARD)
SPECTRUM11
SPECTRUM 10 (SILVER AWARD)
