Title
Nevermore
Object Type
Creator
Date
2009-2010
Notes
William Klenk trained as a painter in the 1950s and has taught painting and drawing at the University of Rhode Island for fifty years, but the 21st century finds him invigorated and excited by the art of collage. Klenk began introducing collage-defined as an assemblage of different forms that create a whole-into his painting in the late 1960s. Today collage dominates his aesthetic; Klenk juxtaposes images of objects and materials usually viewed by themselves, thus reconstructing their meaning. The resulting collage paintings are at once provocative and entertaining. Klenk sees his collage process, with its combinations of signs, posters and letters, as transformative, something "that connects us to our world in a different way than painting does."
Born in Ohio in 1930, William Klenk obtained a BFA at Ohio's Miami University. After two years in the army he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and received his MA and Ph.D. in art and art history at Ohio State University. In 1960 Klenk moved to Rhode Island, to begin his distinguished tenure at URI. Among his many honors and awards is the John Elliott prize at the Newport Art Museum's American Annual in 1968. His private portrait commissions have included two past presidents of URI, Dr. Werner Baum and Dr. Robert Carothers, as well as actress Angelica Huston for the film Mr. North, in 1988. Klenk's work is in many public and private collections including Fidelity Investments, Boston, and the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. William Klenk and his wife Sheila live in South Kingstown, RI.
Born in Ohio in 1930, William Klenk obtained a BFA at Ohio's Miami University. After two years in the army he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and received his MA and Ph.D. in art and art history at Ohio State University. In 1960 Klenk moved to Rhode Island, to begin his distinguished tenure at URI. Among his many honors and awards is the John Elliott prize at the Newport Art Museum's American Annual in 1968. His private portrait commissions have included two past presidents of URI, Dr. Werner Baum and Dr. Robert Carothers, as well as actress Angelica Huston for the film Mr. North, in 1988. Klenk's work is in many public and private collections including Fidelity Investments, Boston, and the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. William Klenk and his wife Sheila live in South Kingstown, RI.
Cultural Origin
Rhode Island
Medium
Acrylic/collage
Extent
diameter: 39 3/4 in
Source
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. William Klenk
Identifier
2011.008.001
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