Michele
Y Williams Sets Stage for Artists
Passion for Art Leads to and Opens Doors into New Areas
Story by
Debra Kronowitz
Self-taught artist michelle y
williams definitely is diverse. With a proclivity for the
abstract, her style has been described as non-representational —
sometimes minimalist, sometimes more expressionist, sometimes
even figurative. She has been said to “draw from the modern
abstraction practices of the mid-20th century, specifically
those that celebrated the materiality and tactility of paint on
canvas.”
A Houston
native, Williams had a yearning to express herself through art.
“I had always been sort of creative and crafty growing up, but
never painting,” she said.
Her passion
for art led her to buy a gallery in Houston in the early 1990s.
However, she was not painting. In 1996, Williams sold the
gallery and headed for Boise with her husband Michael. “I told
Michael that I wanted to start painting. So the next day he went
to the art supply store and bought me everything that I needed
to get started. I stood at the dining room table with my new
brushes and a blank canvas and went from there. Painting was
never a medium that I had tried before in my life,” she said.
In 1997, Williams began to show exhibitions. Her work has
evolved over the years and continues to undergo transformation.
She is represented in galleries across the country, including
Deloney Newkirk Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM, and Laura Rathe Fine
Art in Houston. Though she is back living in Houston, the Big
Easy has always held a special place in Williams’ heart; so it
made sense that she pursued representation here. Her efforts
have paid off, as she has developed a following in New Orleans.
“It just seemed natural to come to New Orleans. It’s is a
decidedly European kind of city and I like that; and I like that
the arts are huge here. It just felt right,” she said.
Work Born from
Instinct
Working on
canvas, wood, metal and Plexiglas, Williams paints exclusively
with a palette knife as her painting tool and uses various
materials, including acrylics, oils and raw materials like sand.
“I love that there is a blank canvas I am facing, and I put
myself into this nothingness, and at the end there is this
something that I created,” she said. |
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Photos by Michelle Y Williams |
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Relying on her instinct for the creative process, she says the
inspiration for her work is both selective and indiscriminate.
“After the initial influence sparks the beginning of a painting,
the piece generally takes on a vision of its own. Occasionally,
conflicts must be overcome, as art imitates life. At other times
it’s very passionate and I’m in the moment, not questioning the
end result, trusting it will take me where it wants to go.
“The ultimate intention of my work is to evoke an
emotional response. A strong feeling of any kind, good or bad,
indicates passion, and with that we can truly live life to its
absolute fullest,” she continued.
Sensitive to the use of light, Williams has experimented
in other mediums, including glass, metal and sculpture. Though
she primarily paints, Williams also creates dimensional works in
glass and metal. “I love to experiment. The more I hone my
craft, experiment and test the limits and boundaries it is hard
to say what is going to come from that.”
“I would like to do more sculpture, and I would like to get into
some one-of-a-kind furniture. Of course, I will always keep
painting, but using different mediums and different materials,
melding them together and seeing what happens,” she said.
Influenced by the work of Cy Twombly, Alberto Giacometti, Eva
Hesse, Robert Rauschenberg and Ralph Rucci, Williams’ art
appeals to both the contemporary collector and the traditional
collector. “I find it interesting that my work is neither
feminine- nor masculine-looking, but men and women both
appreciate it. I love that people put out their hard-earned
money to acquire my work because its presence makes them feel
good, or it simply makes them feel or even because they think it
just looks beautiful. I love that even artists and aspiring
artists, collect my work because they say it inspires them. I am
extremely grateful every single day,” she said.
This March Williams celebrated the official grand opening
of her gallery on Julia Street. The michelle y williams gallery
officially opened its doors in late 2008, during
Prospect.1 Her vision
is to set the stage for artists not to have to follow the
preconceived progression for success in this business. “I stand
for making my life and taking responsibility for it as well. My
passion for creating art will always lead me, and this passion
for creating opens doors into new areas… always.” |
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