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Bill Richards, Art Studio Director Emeritus
Bill Richards, Art Studio Director Emeritus
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A recognized
artist with a master's degree in painting and art history,
Bill Richards has created new standards for art programs
in healthcare settings by redefining art's therapeutic
potential in terms of serious artistic intent.
Described as the artist with the highest achievement to
enter the healthcare arena (with and exhibition list
including the Whitney, Guggenheim, Brooklyn and
Philadelphia Museums of Art. The institute of
Contemporary Art, etc.).
Richards created the Harlem
Horizon Art Studio at Harlem Hospital Center in New York
City in 1988. He defined and directed this program
for more than ten years during which time it became
internationally acclaimed for originality and success.
The success was measured by the patients' health
improvement, highlighted by a quadriplegic regaining
ambulation, and the creation of outstanding works of
art. In 1991, Richards received the prestigious
Service Award from the Stifel Paralysis Research
Foundation in conjunction with the American Paralysis
Association.
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Bill
Richards in the Art Studio at Northeast Center for Special
Care.
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During this span of time Richards kept his own painting
career going with several exhibitions, most notably Donald
Kuspit's Painting Beyond the Death of Painting
exhibition in Moscow and a one-person exhibition at Ricco/Maresca
Gallery, Sohi, New York City. He is represented in
the permanent collection of the Guggenheim, Philadelphia,
Brooklyn, Newark and Miami-Dade
Museums plus numerous
corporate and private collections.
In March 1999, Richards left the Harlem studio to create
the Art Studio Program at Northeast Center for Special
Care in Lake Katrine, NY. His stated objective for
this state-of-the-art rehabilitation center was to create
the best art program in a healthcare facility in the
world. Since opening the Center has been transformed
into a virtual museum with the conspicuous presence of
dozens of outstanding paintings on display in the Centers
public spaces and conference rooms. Also his
envisioned monumental-sculpture garden, begun during the
summer of 1999, represents an ongoing collaboration
between neighbors, artists, foundations, colleges and the
community.
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Bill
Richards with neighbor-created paintings and other works
of art.
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Bill Richards has emerged as the central figure for
artists who want to simultaneously pursue their own
artistic careers while contributing to the rehabilitation,
recovery and discovery of individuals with brain injury
and other disabilities. Richards is currently
working on a series of paintings entitled Faces of
Abstraction. He has developed a new painting process
which enables him to capture a person's likeness in an
abstract idiom. While the originality of the
paintings is inherent in their innovative structure, they
portray masters of twentieth century modernism.
Bill Richards and his wife live in Woodstock, NY where he
maintains his own studio.
Bill Richards retired in June of 2004 to devote his time to
creating his own art.
His contributions to helping change peoples lives and the
artists he helped to nurture will long be remembered.
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