William Norton
Brooklyn. NY
William Norton is an internationally recognized sculptor, curator, and professor celebrated for his emotionally charged steel and mixed-media sculptures. A former Director of Installations at PS1/MoMA and Professor of Steel Sculpture at Columbia University, he has curated over 30 exhibitions across New York and Japan, championing emerging contemporary voices. Raised in Japan within a military family, Norton’s practice fuses Japanese aesthetics with a deep awareness of discipline, impermanence, and rebellion.
Drawing inspiration from wabi-sabi and kintsugi, he transforms found materials — from plastic sheeting to gold leaf — into powerful meditations on beauty, violence, and resilience. His work embodies a lifelong dialogue between chaos and control, structure and freedom.
Artist Interview
Q: Can you share how your artistic journey began? What inspired you to start creating, and how has that initial spark evolved over time?
A: My art took root as a child of 8 growing up in Japan from 1960 - 1963. Being exposed to a culture that reveres beauty in everything gave justification to my inner self, which had always been constrained by my America military upbringing. My work has grown to include my Japanese reverence for beauty and the creation of art by the artist’s own hand, to ensuring a message is included that references the injustices in the world.
Q: What have been some of the most significant moments or challenges in your journey as an artist?
A: My artistic journey has been one tested by fire, literally. After the kidnapping & disappearance of my 4 year old son in 1990, the loft home I had built in BedStuy was burned down for the insurance money by the landlord. Other life changing constraints included literally fighting, and losing to, the Mafia for another loft home I’d built, and finding my kidnapped son after a decade only to lose him back to the cult he’d been raised in. This fight lasted 18 months and sent me deeply into debt. All of these challenges have made art my religion. It is not about making pretty, clever pictures but reaching always for the higher ground.
Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to other creatives pursuing a career in visual arts, what would it be?
A: Believe in yourself. Having been raised in the military, we moved every 2 to 4 years. I never had a long rooted community so I always felt like an insecure outsider. My work was always cutting edge but I had trouble believing in myself. Be your own best champion.