William Pye was born in London in 1938 and studied at Wimbledon School of Art (1958-61) and the Sculpture School of the Royal College of Art (1961-65). Famous for his sculptures using metals, stone and, above all, water, Pye's early and sustained interest in harnessing this largely unpredictable element came from his play and observations as a child. He learnt to…
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William Pye was born in London in 1938 and studied at Wimbledon School of Art (1958-61) and the Sculpture School of the Royal College of Art (1961-65). Famous for his sculptures using metals, stone and, above all, water, Pye's early and sustained interest in harnessing this largely unpredictable element came from his play and observations as a child. He learnt to swim at Cutmill Ponds in Surrey, a national beauty spot, and spent most of his holidays and weekends playing by the stream at Cutmill Cottage. By the age of seventeen he had made his first waterfall.
His sculptures of the 1960s were abstract forms showing a preference for the traditional materials of metal and stone. Highly polished abstract and geometrical works in stainless steel of the 1970s, some of which were kinetic, became synonymous with his name. Movement, reflection and the use of light in these led him logically to considering water as an essential part of his artistic expression. The natural world is interpreted through water and metal, with disarmingly simple concepts becoming objects of utmost sophistication and great beauty.
Pye has undertaken many major commissions in the past fifteen years, including the well-known Slipstream and Jet Stream water sculptures at Gatwick Airport's North Terminal (1987); a thirteen metres by 70 metres water wall and 'portico' which formed the entrance feature to the British Pavilion at the Seville Expo '92 (1992); Tetra Trellis, a tetrahedron-shaped stainless steel water sculpture at Tetra Pak UK Headquarters (1993); and Derby Cascade in Market Square, Derby (1995).
Numerous exhibitions of William Pye's sculptures have been held in Britain and abroad since his first solo show at the Redfern Gallery, London, in 1966. He has been the recipient of many awards, most recently being elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (1993).
