Bill Walton was born in Camden, New Jersey and briefly studied at the Institute of Design in Chicago before moving to Philadelphia in 1964, but was essentially self-taught. He was a commercial printmaker by trade, and later an instructor at Moore College of Art and Design (1974–1990). Interested in the materials used for printmaking—wood, lead, steel—more than the finished product, Walton began to make sculptures after seeing an exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He had his first exhibition in 1971, and over his long career exhibited in galleries nationally and at a variety of Philadelphia institutions, including the Fabric Workshop and Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Print Center, and the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery at Drexel University. He has had several solo gallery exhitions in New York, at venues including JTT and James Fuentes. In 2018, Frith Street Gallery, London, presented a solo exhibition, his first international showing. His work is included in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Yale University Gallery, and the Davis Museum at Wellesley College.
JTT
New York, NY
Oct 28–Dec 17, 2022
Bill Walton
(solo)
(group)
JTT
New York, NY
Mar 19–Apr 24, 2021
In collaboration with Adams and Ollman and Fleisher/Ollman
James Castle
Felipe Jesus Consalvos
William Edmondson
Lee Godie
William Hawkins
Philadelphia Wireman
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
Bill Walton
Joseph Yoakum
Bill Walton, Pat Maguire
(group)
curated by Eileen Neff
Woodmere Art Museum
Philadelphia, PA
Jun 1–Sep 2, 2019
Bill Walton's first solo show outside of the U.S. opens with a private viewing Thursday, april 26, 2018
Bill Walton
Frith Street Gallery, London
Exhibition dates:
27 April 2018 – 23 June 2018
Woodmere Art Museum
Chestnut Hill, PA
Feb 04–May 21, 2017
Including The Dufala Brothers, Anne Minich, Rochelle Toner, and Bill Walton
A group of Bill Walton works are currently on view in the Korman Galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in "Rohrer—Walton—Andrade: On Paper."
The New York Times' Roberta Smith reviews the current Bill Walton shows at James Fuentes and JTT Galleries in the New York.
nytimes.com
Will Heinrich in the New York Observer reviews the Bill Walton shows in New York.
galleristny.com
September 7 – December 4, 2011
Reception: Wednesday, September 7, 6-8PM
Exhibition walkthrough with curator Ingrid Schaffner: Wednesday, September 7, 5PM, ICA Members Only
The Institute of Contemporary Art presents Bill Walton\\\'s Studio in the Project Space. This exhibition recreates the unique environment of the minimalist artist, a key figure in the Philadelphia art community for nearly 50 years.
Walton, a commercial printmaker by trade and later an instructor at Moore College of Art and Design (1974-1990), was often more interested in the materials used for printmaking—wood, lead, steel—than in the finished product. His studio contained an exhibition area so he could display his work in progress in order to judge whether or not it was finished, a crucial part of his studio practice. At the time of his death in 2010, Walton\\\'s studio was a small miracle of order. Tools and materials were arranged as carefully as works of art. Indeed it was not always simple to tell the tools from the work, to judge whether an artful arrangement of screws and bolts was waiting to be used or to be admired.
