William Butler

William went to college to be a graphic designer and illustrator and worked in that field for about a decade, mostly for a toy company in a Chicago suburb. His work has been shown in galleries in Illinois, New York and Toronto. For 8 years he sold hundreds of paintings and original relief prints in art fairs all over the Midwest, Florida and New York, winning many awards. He has work in the Western and Eastern Illinois University collections. He has maintained a studio on the 3rd floor of the Contemporary Art Center since 1996. William lives in Peoria and has served the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria as Executive Director since 2003.

Artist statement

I paint with acrylic using brushes and paint rollers on cut out pieces of board, paper or canvas. Happy accidents are welcome, while I balance the line between carelessness and control. I don’t really have a handle on the meaning of what I create, but after they are completed, I attempt to interpret through the looking glass of what tends to engage my conscious mind to come up with the titles.

The characters in my invented universe seem to have a function and they are busy at it. Being able to see inside and outside simultaneously, perhaps informs our interpretation of what they are trying to achieve. Objects are in constant motion, processing, longing, floating, expanding and exploding, on the verge of engaging each other, like opportunistic jellyfish.

Many creatures float in total darkness, without much propulsion and in this manner they happen upon food and potential mates. Taping into the subconscious involves the digestion of information, assimilating stimuli that we have also happened upon. Humans think they we are so in control of their lives and fates but we are just as aimless and opportunistic.