View source for B. Wurtz

{{Short description|American painter and sculptor (born 1948)}}
{{about|the sculptor Bill Wurz|the musician|Bill Wurtz|other people named Wurtz|Wurtz}}
[[File:B Wurtz with New York Arts Practicum at his home (14958195456).jpg|thumb|B Wurtz with New York Arts Practicum at his home]]
'''Bill Wurtz''', known professionally as '''B. Wurtz''' (b. 1948, [[Pasadena, California]]),<ref name="GUAR" /> is an American painter and sculptor. He lives and works in [[New York City]].<ref name="ArtNet" />
==Education==
Wurtz received a BA from the [[University of California, Berkeley|University of California at Berkeley]] in 1970, and an MFA from the [[California Institute of the Arts]] in 1980.<ref name="ArtNet">{{cite web |title=B. Wurtz |url=http://www.artnet.com/artists/b-wurtz/ |website=ArtNet |access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>
==Work==
Wurtz is known for his transformations of commonplace materials into sculptures.<ref name="BALTIC" /> Wurtz's sculptures are characterized by an appreciation for the ubiquitous, common-place items he uses: plastic grocery bags, disposable baking trays, coat hangers, tuna tins, buttons, shoelaces, cardboard, and construction lumber.<ref name="Frieze">{{cite journal |last1=Grabner |first1=Michelle |title=B. Wurtz |journal=Frieze |date=4 April 2001 |url=https://www.frieze.com/article/b-wurtz |access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>
Wurtz's work has been described as a "[[bricolage]] of found objects."<ref name="GUAR">{{cite news |last1=Cumming |first1=Laura |title=B Wurtz: Selected works 1970-2015 review – everyday rubbish reimagined |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/03/b-wurtz-baltic-gateshead-review-everyday-rubbish-reimagined |access-date=31 May 2022 |publisher=The Guardian |date=3 January 2016}}</ref> He has shown his work widely in solo and group exhibitions internationally. He works in a variety of scales from small-scale sculptures to large-scale public sculptures. In 2015, The [[Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art]] in Gateshead, United Kingdom mounted a retrospective exhibition of the artist's work that traveled to [[La Casa Encendida (Madrid)|La Casa Encendida]] in Madrid through 2016.<ref name="BALTIC">{{cite web |title=B. WURTZ, Selected Works 1970-2015 |url=https://baltic.art/whats-on/exhibitions/b-wurtz=BALTIC |website=Centre for Contemporary Art|access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="LCE">{{cite web |title=B. WURTZ, Selected Works 1970-2015|url=https://www.lacasaencendida.es/en/exhibitions/b-wurtz-selected-works-1970-2016-5721 |website=La Casa Encendida|access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref> In 2018, the [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles|Institute of Contemporary Art]] in Los Angeles mounted a major solo exhibition of his work, ''This Has No Name''.<ref name="ICA">{{cite web |title=B. Wurtz: This Has No Name|url=https://www.theicala.org/en/exhibitions/4-b-wurtz-br-this-has-no-name |website=Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles|access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>
His work has been reviewed in the [[The New York Times|New York Times]],<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Roberta |title=An Artist Who Makes Much Out of Very Little |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/arts/design/b-wurtz-works-1970-2011-at-metro-pictures-gallery-review.html |access-date=21 April 2022 |publisher=The New York Times |date=30 June 2011}}</ref> [[Artsy (website)|Artsy]],<ref name="Artsy">{{cite web |last1=Indresek |first1=Mark |title=At 70, Playful Provocateur B. Wurtz Is Finally Having His Watershed Moment |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-70-playful-provocateur-wurtz-finally-watershed-moment |website=Artsy |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref> Surface,<ref name="Sur">{{cite web |last1=Storey |first1=Nate |title=The Immaculate Pan Paintings of B Wurtz |url=https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/b-wurtz-pan-paintings/ |website=Surface |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref> [[Artforum]],<ref name="Artforum">{{cite journal |last1=Hainley |first1=Bruce |title=Only Connect: The Art of B. Wurtz |journal=Artforum |date=October 2005 |url=https://www.artforum.com/print/200508/only-connect-the-art-of-b-wurtz-9503 |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref> [[Frieze (magazine)|Frieze]],<ref name="Frieze"/> among other publications.
==Collections==
Wurtz's work is represented in the permanent collections of the [[Whitney Museum|Whitney Museum of American Art]],<ref name="Whitney">{{cite web |title=Artist: B. Wurtz |url=https://whitney.org/search?q=B.%20Wurtz |website=Whitney Museum of American Art |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref> the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago]],<ref name="MCA">{{cite web |title=B. Wurtz |url=https://mcachicago.org/About/Who-We-Are/Artists/B-Wurtz |website=Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref> the [[Portland Art Museum]],<ref name="PAM">{{cite web |title=B. Wurtz |url=http://portlandartmuseum.us/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=5462;type=701 |website=Portland Art Museum |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref> among others.
==References==
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[[Category:20th-century American artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American artists]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]