Denizens of the Dirt 48" x 24" Acrylic and charcoal on wood
	Spring Thaw 31" x 48" Mixed media on wood
	Lowlands 32" x 48" Acrylic and charcoal on wood
	Maelstrom 36" x 27" 12" Mixed Media
	Hibernation 32" x 48" Acrylic and graphite on wood
	Limbo 24" x 42" Acrylic and graphite on wood
	Summer Shrine 54" x 14" x 4" Mixed media on wood

Artist Statment

For over thirty years, I have been a sculptor of welded steel animals.  My formal education was in Biology and Pre-Med.  The animal sculpture reflected my love of the natural world.   

In 2000, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  For the next thirteen months I cared for her and was with her when she died.  This was my first confrontation with the reality and profoundness of death.

During those thirteen months I had no desire to weld the steel sculptures, which I had made for so long.  Yet, I had a stronger need than ever to express myself.  I began sketching.  About a year after my mother’s death these sketches became the basis for a series of paintings on wood.  I did a series of mostly black and white paintings, which represent my attempts at an inquiry into the nature of death.  I discovered that painting offered me a much freer, more spontaneous means of exploration than welded steel.   

Since I created these black and white paintings my art has changed greatly.  It has become progressively more colorful, abstract and energetic.  I view this current work as less personal and emotional, but more spiritual.  Despite the changes in my work, the themes of death, transformation and a movement toward light and energy continue to form the basis of my art.

William Allen’s work is in public and private collections throughout the country.  Collections include The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore MD, the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City MI, the Brookfield Zoo and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL and the Michigan Legacy Art Park in Thompsonville, MI.