AXOM Gallery Press Release
February 6th – March 9 2013
Opening Reception: February 8, 2013 5:30-9pm
AXOM Gallery is pleased to present ‘Eccentrics’ by Judd Williams. This exhibit will include a new body of work consisting of graphite drawings on paper and new sculpture which continues Williams’s exploration with the art of assemblage.
Judd Williams’ graphite drawings are abstract compositions of bold shapes created with a minimal palette of black, white and grays. At first glance they appear to be precise, almost mathematical arrangements of geometric shapes. Yet upon closer inspection, they exhibit a nuance of expressive texture and pattern created by the layering of graphite which is then brushed, rubbed and manipulated in countless ways. The end result is a collection of striking abstractions of subtle complexities.
The value of any material is in its potential to be transformed by the mind and hands of an artist. Williams’ sculpture is a bricolage of scavenged objects and building remnants that appear to be created with a child-like sense of wonder. The beauty of these sculptures lies in their ability to have us disassociate from our predictable responses and invite us to experience these familiar materials in fresh ways. Judd Williams recognition of a material’s possibilities and his talent for giving them new life, underscores the ways in which materials, methods and meaning are inextricably woven together.
Judd Williams, whose formal name is Lawrence Williams, taught painting, printmaking, sculpture and figure drawing at Rochester Institute of Technology from 1963 until his retirement in the year 2000. Williams is admired by generations of students who attribute his inspiration and encouragement for influencing them to pursue careers in the visual arts. Many of these students are now prominent artists and art professors who in one form or another continue Williams’ legacy. Judd Williams’ work in is many private collections including the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester and the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.