Bill FitzGibbons


Bill FitzGibbons is an American artist born in Memphis, Tennessee, known for public light sculptures and environmental art. FitzGibbons has worked with sculpture for over thirty years, and has done projects in numerous countries, including Finland, Iceland, Germany, and the UK. For 2012, the state of Texas announced FitzGibbons as a State Artist.

Biography

Towards the end of the 1960s, FitzGibbons graduated from high school and left his Memphis home to move east and attend college. He attended the University of Tennessee and then Washington University in St. Louis. FitzGibbons credits the Russian Constructivists, in regards to their sculpture and philosophy with having impacted his early work. His first creations were neon paintings, then scrap material media projects, and eventually polyester resin sculptures. He completed dozens of public art projects while working full-time as executive director of Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum.
For 2012 FitzGibbons was announced as the 3D state artist of Texas. When he received the award, FitzGibbons expressed the hope that "more attention on the state level can be brought to the arts, so the government can understand that the support of the visual and performing arts in the state actually is an investment in our future and it should be one of the fundamentals of education."

Artistic style

;Public Art Light Sculpture
An example of a FitzGibbons public art light sculpture would be his LightRails. It lights a tunnel in Birmingham, Alabama. The installation is composed of a network of computerized LEDs that have lighting patterns.
;Environmental Art
An example of a FitzGibbons environmental art work rendering would be his Duck Pond, at the plaza of the Heritage Park Duck Pond. The work has eight steel columns holding ducks.

Artworks

  • 1990 Lemon Creek Plaza, Lemon Creek Correctional Facility.
  • 1996 Rhode Island Lights, exterior, neon sculpture at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
  • 2001 Duck Pond Plaza, design Team with Groves and Associates, redesign of a neighborhood park with public art.
  • 2003–2005 Skywall, 60’ long sculpture with LED lights at the Bush Intercontinental Airport.
  • 2006 Light Channels, site-specific, public art project consisting of aluminum sculptures and hundreds of LED lights. Installed at the I-37 underpasses at Houston and Commerce Streets.
  • 2006 Day Star Archway, 40' tall archway and walkway at the San Antonio International Airport.
  • 2008 Alamo Lights, site-specific, ephemeral light installation on the Alamo; Luminaria festival.
  • 2010 Knoxville ColorLine, Site-specific ephemeral light installation at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
  • 2013 San Antonio Colorline, a permanent, site-specific LED light sculpture for the downtown Robert B. Green University Health System Clinic.
  • 2013 LightRails, downtown.
  • 2014 Culebra Plaza, environmental plaza with LED light sculpture. This artwork was in collaboration with the local neighborhood association and school.
  • 2016 Centro Chrome Tower, an 85-foot interactive light sculpture tower that is part of the new downtown Westside Transit Center.
  • 2016 Kinetic Skyline, a permanent, site-specific LED light sculpture for the Bank of America plaza building.
  • 2018 El Paso Passage, site-specific computerized LED light sculpture under Airways Blvd. at the entrance to the El Paso International Airport.
  • 2019 West Palm Beach Lights, site-specific computerized LED sculpture on the new Braman Motorcars facility, West Palm Beach, Florida.

Exhibitions

Awards

  • 1993 Fulbright Scholar, Hungarian Academy of Art and Design
  • 2010 Outstanding Alumni Award, University of Tennessee
  • 2012 Texas State 3D Artist, Texas Commission on the Arts
  • 2014 CODAaward for LightRails, juried for the best design project in the transportation category
  • 2017 Arts & Letters Award, Friends of the San Antonio Public Library
  • 2022 CODAworx, Stockyard Spectrum selected as one of the Top 100 International Public Art Projects