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Bill Claps ‘’ARTSPEAK’’ exhibition 5-11 June 2017




The Zurab Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Tbilisi, Georgia, is showcasing American artist Bill Claps, who is also a filmmaker and writer. The exhibition called "ARTSPEAK" will be held from 5-11 June 2017.

The exhibition Is a collection of mixed media artworks by New York artist Bill Claps (1963-). The collection is from three series: ‘’Artspeak’’ – ‘’It’s All Derivative’’ – and ‘’Natural Abstractions.’’ All three collections use a gold or silver foil technique, and show positive and negative aspects of the medium.

‘’Artspeak’’ investigates contemporary art journalism and critique, analyzing the reaction of ordinary people when confronted with this language. The exhibits are press releases of art exhibitions and pieces gilded and translated into Morse code, a metaphor for the exclusive language of the art world.

Bill Claps, Close-up, 2017

Bill Claps, Several Generative Metaphors have enabled them to think about Art's Contradictory Ability to Communicate Certain of its Contents while maintaining its status as an Enduring Conundrum, Negative, 2017

Bill Claps, Often They Reveal Themselves and their Contents through the Self-Reflective Recalcitrance of the Artistic Materials Comprising Them, 2014
Bill Claps, Harnessed Discord, Negative, 2014


‘’It’s All Derivative’’ comments on the practice of appropriation and veneration in the art world by combining imagery from the past with the visual language of Morse code. Iconic images become gilded icons.

Bill Claps, It's All Derivative, Bridgitte I, Positive, 2016
Bill Claps, It's All Derivative, Bridgitte I, Negative, 2016
Bill Claps, It's All Derivative, Jackie, Positive, 2016
Bill Claps, It's All Derivative, Campbell's Soup, Negative, 2014
Bill Claps, It's All Derivative, The Skull, Positive, 2014

‘’Natural Abstractions’’ pays homage to 18th century Japanese master printmakers, whose graphic style influenced European impressionists.  ‘’Each work is executed in a positive and negative to articulate the duality, that is the basis of much of oriental culture,’’ says Claps.

Bill Claps, Majestic Oak II, Positive, 2016
Bill Claps, Aspen Stand, Positive, 2015
Bill Claps, Birch Forest, Mt Hale, 2016


The works of Bill Claps express a search for the motivation and meaning behind artistic expression, as well as questioning its place in the continuum of art history.








MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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