About

Statement

If we tell stories to understand who we are, then that must be why we want to make art. I find print to be the most intuitive way for me to express these stories. However, setting type and printing are only part of the process - layout and composition should be considered first and foremost. I have grown to prefer a historically informed approach to design and try to use ornament to reflect symbolic and referential elements within a work. My influences include the works of Renaissance and Arts & Crafts printers and typographers, such as Robert Granjon, Aldus Manutius, and William Morris. I work a lot with “Granjon’s Arabesques,” a set of six combinable fleurons (“printer’s flowers”), designed in the 16th century as cheap decoration for books.
Interestingly, these unusual glyphs have persisted long enough in our visual consciousness to be revived in modern type-metal and ultimately digitized. This duality allows me to experiment physically and digitally to examine many iterations before narrowing in on a suitable visual grammar. My ultimate goal is to present an idea or text in a way that has never been seen before yet still seems familiar.

Biography

Residing in Fort Collins, CO, Bill Whitley has been printing with letterpress equipment since the late 1960s. In the early ‘80s, he set up a private press for personal work and has increasingly come to agree with Frederic Goudy that “all the old fellows stole our best ideas.” Influenced heavily by the work of the printing masters of the Renaissance and the resulting Arts & Crafts revivals, he is best known for his handset and hand-printed ornament fields. Although currently focused exclusively on letterpress and relief printing, Mr. Whitley is also an award-winning sculptor in mixed media and electrical assemblages.

Resume / CV

Professional Art Experience
2024 • PULP Book and Paper Arts juried show, Sebastopol, CA
• CORE Gallery Works on Paper juried show, Lakewood, CO
• Loveland Public Library - Galleria Exhibition, Loveland, CO
• Communication Arts Magazine: Award of Excellence, 2024 Typography Annual 14
2023 • Hatch Show Print Invitational Exhibition: Haley Gallery, Nashville, TN
• “Type Speaks” Exhibition: Dane Ledet Gallery, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA
2018 “Art of the Garage,” event - Fort Collins Museum of Art
2010 moved press to Fort Collins, CO (personal work: printing & hand bookbinding)
1988 moved press to Holliston, MA (personal work: printing & hand bookbinding)
1984 established a private press in Richmond, VA (personal work: printing)
1972 Robinson House Gallery - One Man Show - Richmond, VA
1971 Virginia Museum Artist’s Biennial - Richmond, VA
Certificate of Distinction (Juried by Thomas B. Hess)

Editions
2024 • “Dysphoria Typographica” series (works in progress)
• “Moral Compass” series (works in progress)
2023 • “Tennyson Tetraptych” series - 4 print editions of 25 each
2022 • Amanda Gorman broadsheet - print edition of 100

Awards & Honors
2024 Award of Excellence, Communication Arts Magazine: 2024 Typography Annual 14 (print)
2023 “Type Speaks” Juried Typography Exhibition (2nd place award) Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA (print)
1971 Virginia Museum Artist’s Biennial - Richmond, VA, USA - Certificate of Distinction (sculpture)
(Juried by Thomas B. Hess)

Collections
Library of Congress, Washington DC
Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK
Various private collections in the US, UK, and Europe

Solo shows
Richmond Main Public Library, Richmond VA
Robinson House Gallery - Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

Affiliations
Board of Directors, Letterpress Depot Museum, Denver, CO, USA
Past VP and Board of Directors, Museum of Printing, Haverhill, MA

Memberships
Association of European Printing Museums
American Printing History Association
Amalgamated Printers Association
Letterpress Depot Printing Museum - Denver, CO
The Museum of Printing - Haverhill, MA

Education
1992-1993 - North Bennet Street School, Boston, MA - classes on hand bookbinding
1971 - BFA, Sculpture, VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA)
1967-1971 - BFA program, VCU