View Our Newly Commissioned Chris Williams Sculpture - Ocean Octopus
For the past 25 years, Chris Williams has lived his dream of turning metal and glass into art for all to enjoy. What was once a knack for machinery and metalwork in his youth has evolved into an artwork that has become his passion.
The Beauport Hotel in Gloucester is proud to call our lobby home to one of his more recent works. The glass and metal sculpture this local artist created for our oceanfront hotel is aptly called The Octopus. We love the sculpture, not only because we are able to support a local artist on Cape Ann, but because we can showcase the mystery and beauty of the ocean that sits right outside our door.
Who Is Chris Williams?
Chris Williams grew up in neighboring Rockport, Massachusetts, tinkering with metal in the metalwork shop owned by his father. He probably never dreamed that his enjoyment of playing with metal and bending railroad spikes into small animals for friends and family would eventually become his passion and career.
Known for his adventurous spirit and creativity (not to mention his prowess at cajoling metal into shapes only imagined in his mind), Williams now makes large-scale sculptures using tools that he has crafted on his own. He loves bending, shaping, and welding metal, glass, and other components into larger-than-life sculptures.
William’s Local Commissions
If you have visited local universities such as Salem State University or Bridgewater State University you may have seen some of his works. Salem State University requested a piece that would be a fitting symbol for the Harold E. and Marilyn J. Gassett Fitness and Recreation Center. He designed a Viking in honor of their team's mascot. He did likewise at Bridgewater State University where he created a bronze Bear in their honor. The University of Florida also commissioned an alligator for its campus.
Other locations where Williams's art can be viewed include the courtyard entrance to the Cape Ann Museum where he designed a 9-foot tall Sea Serpent that was once said to wander Gloucester harbor, according to local legend.
Boston, Massachusetts is home to several of his commissioned pieces. His bronze and glass seascape piece can be viewed at Logan International Airport in Boston. A piece called The Dragon can be found at the South Boston Convention Center. That particular piece stands 18 feet tall and the dragon itself has a 20-foot wingspan. It is impressive to view and will leave you in awe.
Yet another commissioned piece called The Arrival made its debut at the South Boston Hampton Inn. The Arrival weighs a whopping 2700 pounds and stands 18 feet tall. The piece depicts an anchor making a splashdown into the water as it is lowered into the harbor.
William’s love for the sea and animals has brought him to create sculptures that include a life-sized giraffe, monkeys, squid, frogs, dolphins, mermaids, jellyfish, and buffalo. He especially loves using materials such as metal and glass in an intertwined fashion. He simply loves the interaction between the strength of the metal and the ultimate fragility of the glass.
We invite you to visit one of Chris William’s latest commissioned pieces in our lobby and marvel at his ability to bring to life an octopus crafted from glass and metal.