William Cannings is a master of the elements; he contorts metal alloy into soft folds and alluring curves that dazzle us with bright, saturated and irresistibly engaging shapes. His work invokes a sense of wit by using hard steel to create “soft” subjects: soft-edge geometric forms, abstract conglomerates, and sometimes representational figures that look like they were made of malleable plastic. He becomes fabricator, then creator, and seems to be a modern Hephaestus. Through his work one might see the artist seduced by his own creation, hypnotized by the seamless curvaceous folds of convex and concave planes. In an industrial process, which the artist learned during his youth working in automotive shops, he welds steel sheets into pockets, then siphons hot, pressurized air into the cavity. He then coats the pneumatic configurations in slick automotive paint before installing the work in such a way that it seems to defy gravity. The work goads us into reflection through its metallic surfaces, seductive forms and visual trickery that entice, provoke, and demand to be touched. William Cannings, born in 1970, is originally from Manchester, England and currently lives and works in Lubbock, TX with his wife, Shannon Cannings, also a fine artist, and their two daughters. He received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA from Syracuse University. He is Professor of Sculpture at Texas Tech University. In 2004, he helped to reinvigorate the Texas Sculpture Symposium, a brand of the Sculpture Network of Texas, where he continues today as an active member. William Cannings exhibits frequently across the United States including New York, Miami, New Mexico and Texas, as well as art fairs in Europe. He was one of four artists chosen for a solo exhibition at the 2009 Texas Biennial that was reviewed with critical acclaim in Art in America. His works are seen publicly in the permanent collection of the William P. Clements Jr. Hospital at UTSW Medical Center in Dallas, TX; the HOLT CAT Headquarters in San Antonio, TX and Line Rock Partners, Houston, Texas. He has installed major outdoor public artworks in Dallas, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana. He is featured in the anthology of contemporary Texas artists, Texas Artists Today, compiled and written by Catherine D. Anspon. Cannings has currently completed a permanent installation of his iconic inflated steel sculptures titled Clouds at the Houston William P. Hobby Airport on the G50 Concourse. This installation is in the permanent collection of the City of Houston.