The Wisconsin-based sculptor Bill Reid is known for his witty and fantasy-filled sculptures of animals inspired by word play. Indeed, animal puns fill his own writings about his art! While most of his sculptures today are larger in scale and constructed out of steel, his earlier works are primarily in ceramic. They nonetheless show the same sense of humor and joy that has been a hallmark of the artist’s career. When speaking of his process, Reid says:

“My process of working is elemental; using only a few hand tools and the heat of the torch I build my creatures out of thin sheets of metal and steel rods. Even as a young boy, I was drawn to the siren call of fire. Like a detective, I turn on the heat until the steel talks. Like an astronomer, I study faint sparks of light in the distance and I try to bring them closer by telling their stories about life in the mowzone layer.”

The artist received his Master of Fine Arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. His work has gained him numerous awards and has allowed him dozens of exhibitions across the country.

EDUCATION

MFA Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI

BFA Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO

Tulsa Welding School, Tulsa, OK

SELECTED COMMISSIONS & PUBLIC WORKS

2014 Featured Artist on Milwaukee Public Television’s The Arts Page

2011 RAM on the Road/Wustum on Wheels, painting commission

2007 Artwork featured in BBC program, Treasures of India Sea Turtle Chess Board, Racine Public Library, Racine, WI

2004 North Beach Bike Racks, Racine, WI

2004 Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithica, NY

2000 Brady Street Beasts, Brady and Holton Streets, Milwaukee, WI

1996 George’s Penguin, George’s Tavern, Racine, WI

1995 Hawk Bench, The Prairie School, Racine, WI

1994 & 1992 Windows at Tiffanys, Tiffany & Co., San Francisco, CA

1992 Freeing the Animals, Racine Zoo, Racine, WI

1988 Monument to the Unknown Birdwatcher, Milwaukee County Zoo, WI

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2015 Racine Art Museum Artist Fellowship Winners Exhibition (August)

2014 What Could Bee?, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

2013 Peacabill Kingdom, Delafield Arts Center, Delafield, WI

2012 Zoom…, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL (2 person show)

2010 One from Wisconsin, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI

2009 Birds of Steel, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithica, NY

Another Moving Experience, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

2007 WHEELS, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

Pieceabill Kingdom, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

2006-07 Flying through the Windows, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

2006 Featured Artist, Tory Folliard Gallery, Fish Creek, WI

2005 New Arrivals, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

2003 New Sculpture, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

1997 Featured Artist, Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, WI

Bee Seeing You, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL

1996 Wit and Sensibility, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL

1994 On a Roll, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL

1993 Bill Reid- Metal Sculpture, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL

1989 Recent Sculpture, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI

1989 Small Scale Satirical Sculptures, David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

1986 Bill Reid, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI

SELECTED MUSEUM/PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS

2015 Kindred Collecting…, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

Wildlife Biennial XVII, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI

2014 Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales…, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

Animal Craft, Fowler-Kellogg Art Center, Chautauqua Institute, NY

2013 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

Wildlife Biennial XVI, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI

2012 A Passion for Pets, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI

Found Object Exhibition, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

2011 AnimalCraft, Fowler-Kellogg Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY

Racine and Vicinity Juried Competition, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

2010 The Marvelous Toys…, HF Johnson Gallery of Art,Carthage College, Kenosha, WI

Word Play and Menagerie of the Mind, Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI

2007 Art Zoo, Appleton Art Center, Appleton, WI

2004 Raminals, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

Toys Designed by Artists, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR (also 2003, 2002, & 2000)

2001 Toy With Us, Palo Alto Arts Center, CA

1999 Objects of Sound, Bloomington Art Museum, Bloomington, IN

The End is Near, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

1998 Dress Up, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

1997 Artists of a Different Caliber, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

1996 Fantimals, Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago, IL

Just Add Water, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

1995 Let’s Play House, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

1994 The Aesthetics of Athletes, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

Beyond Furniture, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL

1993 Aquatic Visions, John Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL

Pet Show, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

1992 Serious Fun, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA

1991 A Beastly Exhibition, South Bend Art Center, South Bend, IN

1990 Our Ladies of Art, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI

1989 Wisconsin Biennial, Rahr West Museum, Manitowoc, WI

Dashboard Art, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI

The Aesthetic Experience, Wustum Museum of Art, Racine, WI

Wisconsin Artists, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL

1988 A Venture Into Installation, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI

1986 On Site, Milwaukee County Zoo, Sponsored by the Milwaukee Art Museum

Marriage à la Mode, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

1984 Cow Show, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI

1982 Wisconsin Biennial, Madison Art Center, Madison, WI

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

National Music Museum, Vermillion, SD

Cornell Institute of Ornithology, Ithica, NY

Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

The Guest House at Wingspread, Racine, WI

The Racine Zoo