William Wareham

1941 - 2023

William Wareham
January 22, 1941 - April 17, 2023
William "Bill" Wareham always thought in visual images, every moment a challenge to balance tension and harmony in a painting or a sculpture. Bill was born in Ohio on January 21, 1941, but spent much of his youth in Accokeek, MD, near Washington, D.C. During his childhood he was intrigued by the history and art of Native Americans and would organize events for the local community to honor those tribes. Early on, he staged skits to express his artistic interests.
During high school, he was awarded a fine arts summer scholarship at Yale University. Later he attended the Philadelphia College of Art and the University of the Americas in Mexico City. In 1964, he joined the Peace Corps serving in the first Arts and Crafts program. During the three-month training program in Puerto Rico, he built a ten-foot-tall sculpture from recycled metal pieces that still stands today.
As a PC volunteer in Peru, he lived in a village in the southern Andes with Quechua-speaking artisans casting bronze objects based on ancient pre-Inca designs. On leaving Peru he embarked on a South American motorcycle trip back to San Francisco with fellow volunteer Yvonne Gavre.
Bill returned to Berkeley for graduate school at the University of California where he earned two MA degrees, in Painting and in Sculpture. During the 1970s his sculpture and art focus was influenced by Peter Voulkos as well as Mark di Suvero, Richard Serra, Manuel Neri, and David Smith. Bill was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, the Eisner Prize for Sculpture and many more awards. He was featured on Good Morning America when he served as the first Artist in Residence at the San Francisco landfill recycling center to retrieve junk and transform it into art.
Bill and Yvonne were married in 1974 and had two children, Aloysia and Vasili, who enriched their lives. Bill taught at various Bay Area colleges and his work is included in the collections of the SF Museum of Modern Art, the Oakland Museum of California, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, San Pedro Harbor, Mare Island Shipyard, and in private collections. San Francisco Mayor London Breed presented him with an Honorary Award at a city celebration in 2019 for the installation of his large-scale sculpture at Hunters Point. One of his primary intentions was to transport the viewer to a new place by activating negative space and contrasting scale through steel. He also explored painted steel cut-outs and collaged paper drawings using hot beeswax, powdered lamp black and house paint. All this with the purpose of bringing a great sense of visual delight. He often challenged himself by "folding" metal instead of cutting or welding it to arrive at a shape.
After 30 years living in the Bay Area, Bill moved to a 42-acre former dairy farm near Mt. Shasta where his large sculptures and those of other artists dot the natural landscape. He was active in Yreka's Liberty Arts cooperative and was well loved in his community.
Bill died on April 17, 2023, at the age of 82 in Yreka, CA. He is survived by his children Aloysia and Vasili, siblings Nancy and Bud and former wife Yvonne.
Gratitude to his many friends and colleagues, notably longtime supporters and believers including former Oakland Museum Chief Curator of Art Phil Linhares, Jon Rife, Art Horvath, Everett Snowden, Joe Slusky, Mel Lyons, Kim Presley, pals at Farleys and many others.
A celebration of Bill's life will be held on July 15, 2023, at Lava Rock AIR Sculpture Garden in Montague, California. www.williamwareham.com