William Conger

WILLIAM CONGER

William Conger is a distinguished Chicago-based abstract painter and educator whose career spans over six decades. Raised in Evanston and Lincoln Park, he was nurtured by a mother who regularly took him to the Art Institute of Chicago—early exposure that profoundly shaped his artistic path. He earned a BFA at the University of New Mexico in 1960, studying under influential figures such as Raymond Jonson and Elaine de Kooning, and went on to complete an MFA at the University of Chicago in 1966.

Conger’s work marries geometric precision with lyrical abstraction, evoking architecture, landscape, and inner states through layered shapes, color, and form—a visual dialogue between city and nature, as he notes in referencing Lake Michigan and Chicago’s built environment. His paintings subtly blur figure and ground, creating “as‑if places and stories” that engage both memory and emotion.

From 1966 onward, Conger nurtured emerging artists while teaching at Rock Valley College, DePaul University (where he chaired the Visual Arts Department), and Northwestern University (Professor Emeritus, retired in 2006). His solo exhibitions include landmark retrospectives such as the 2009 survey at the Chicago Cultural Center, and venues like the Art Institute of Chicago, MCA, and Zolla/Lieberman Gallery.

A recipient of Pollock-Krasner awards, city public commissions, and recognized by major publications like Artforum and Art in America, Conger’s work is held in prominent public collections including the Art Institute and MCA, Chicago.