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The art of William
Baziotes reflects his interest in Automatism (tapping the
unconscious for the creation of images), Surrealism, and the
influence of Mirò, Matta and Arp. He developed a personal
vocabulary of abstract symbols which often have a rounded,
lifelike character. These "biomorphs" are shapes that suggest a
living organism but do not consciously represent one. His
paintings from the mid‑1940s, like Untitled (1946),
represent biomorphs as seen through a window or doorway, or as
placed on a platform or stage, suggesting space despite the
flatness of the composition. In his mature works the forms are
magnified to occupy the entire canvas, and the surrounding
framework disappears. Baziotes' paintings represent a synthesis
of Surrealist subject and Cubist style.
Born in Pittsburgh, Baziotes grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania. He
studied painting at the National Academy of Design, graduating in
1936, and was employed by the WPA through 1941. His first one man
exhibition was held in 1944 at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This
Century Gallery. He was a founding member, along with Robert
Motherwell, Mark Rothko, David Hare and Barnett Newman, of the
Subjects of the Artist School in New York. After his death in
1963, a memorial exhibition which traveled the country was
organized by the Guggenheim Museum.
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