Bill Burgess
Oasis 64 and Opus Series are both sculptures by longtime Colorado Springs resident, educator and artist Bill Burgess (1930 - 2017). With a catalog of work spanning 50+ years, Burgess is featured in public and private collections all around the state and nationally. During his lifetime, Bill Burgess worked with a variety of materials, but most often choosing metal. Spirals and curved surfaces serve as stylistic hallmarks for the artist. Bill Burgess is perhaps best known for his monumental public sculpture, Continuum (also known as the Julie Penrose fountain), located in “America the Beautiful Park” near downtown Colorado Springs.
Continuum shares similar DNA with Opus Series and Oasis 64. The Opus Series places an emphasis on form and materials, with Burgess’s signature spiral shapes present along with his attention to material choice. A square piece of metal loops in on itself in Opus, creating a circular gateway. His choice of rusted steel complements the surrounding landscape, standing in stark contrast to the silvery sheen of the Ent Center for the Arts building. Opus Series was on-view at the Ent Center for the Arts until Spring 2024, when the piece moved to a private collection.
The bright orange Oasis64, carries a similar curvature to Opus Series with a linear element, as you can note by the branch-like structure stemming from the bottom and spiraling up into the center of the circle. It is said that Burgess enjoyed playing with opposing structures and elements in his art to show the contrast between, for example, softness and hardness, or straight and curved. His sculptures reference symbolic forms in nature and cultures. Oasis64 is currently on-view at the Ent Center for the Arts.
Upon his passing in 2017, Bill Burgess’ family created the Bill Burgess Memorial Fund for Emerging Artists to carry on his legacy.
Visit
Visit the sculptures outdoors at
Ent Center for the Arts
Watch
Video of Bill Burgess’ iconic ‘Continuum’ sculpture
Learn
Visit Bill Burgess’ website to learn more and see an archive of work.
Oasis 64 and Opus Series
Oasis 64
Opus Series
Oasis 64
Opus Series
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bill Burgess
“A U.S. Navy veteran, Burgess planned a career in Engineering but admits little interest in college-level Algebra and Calculus. Art, on the other hand, tantalized his senses and offered a compelling option – a way to explore life through the study of form, content and spatial relationships. “At that point, I realized I could not, not do it,” he says.
The CU-Boulder graduate soon had a growing family to support, so for 17 years he taught drawing, painting and design by day at Wasson High School and worked on his own projects at night. Penrose-St. Francis physician Tobias Kircher was one of Burgess’ Wasson art students. Today the Kirchers own a garden sculpture and an 8-foot hanging fountain-sculpture designed by the artist.
“Bill taught both my sophomore and junior years. He was very encouraging and pushed you. He was never just about the rote stuff of painting and drawing,” Kircher says, noting that he later learned Burgess was instrumental in getting Advanced Placement Art accredited in the U.S.
Burgess always made time to paint and sculpt, even while earning his Master’s degree in Art Education at Colorado College. His passion and talent soon found an appreciative audience. In 1975, he was awarded a Sculpture Fellowship from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
By the 1980s the artist’s work appeared in numerous shows and exhibits. Featured were small sculptures that began as bent steel arcs, circles and spirals and eventually grew into pieces that were a single spiral or circle. Early shows at the prestigious McMurtrey Gallery in Houston, galleries in Barcelona Spain, the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center and numerous U.S. arts centers, along with commissioned sculpture for the cities of Denver and Boulder, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the Arvada Center for the Arts and more added to his growing reputation.
Burgess’ artistic style is recognizable, simple and elegant. His work often presents cast shadows or reflections rendered in steel. When using color he prefers pink or some pastel soft color on hard steel. “I also tend to place a formal element, like a circle with crushed steel or chaotic colors,” the sculptor explains.
At 85, Bill Burgess’ sculpture and his generous spirit are visible throughout the local community–and he continues to inspire us.”
Bill Burgess Memorial Fund for Emerging Artists
Bill Burgess deeply believed in the transformative power of art, and he enriched the Pikes Peak region for 50 years through his creation of sculpture.
To honor his legacy, the Bill Burgess Fund for Emerging Artists has been established to encourage up-and-coming artists to further their careers by providing annual support of an exhibiting artist or emerging artists exhibition at the Galleries of Contemporary Art.