Biography

 Carl Billingsley was born in Oklahoma and spent his formative years in a variety of locations as his father, a sergeant in the field artillery, was transferred from post to post. Three years in Germany made an indelible impression on Billingsley and he has returned to Europe as an adult many times. Billingsley teaches sculpture at the School of Art & Design, East Carolina University and has a very active exhibition schedule. Billingsley’s work can be found in collections and sculpture parks from North Carolina to Wisconsin. He has permanent public sculptures in Norway, Israel, Estonia, Japan, China and Brazil.

Statement

My most recent work has involved a renewed interest in and exploration of color. Having made numerous sculptures which were intended to maintain as direct a relationship to the process and material as possible and which were therefore not painted, I decided to change my focus from the material to the dynamic of color in the public realm. I strive to utilize color as phenomenon and to bring the attention of the public to the many ways that color changes as the light changes and as the environment around the sculpture affects both the form and the color of the sculpture. Color is not a static, passive element in these sculptures. Prism Arc I  is constantly changing : yellow becomes orange under the influence of reflected red, orange become red, and red  shifts through values and intensity as the sun tracks through the sky.