The figure receives bold serenity, self-consciousness, sensuality and more during Kent Williams’s upcoming solo exhibition.
Employing a sophisticated range of both detailed and expressive brushwork, painter Kent Williams will continue to enthrall his growing following on September 25, when his 3rd solo exhibition opens at EVOKE Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Everything Williams’s admirers have come to expect will feature in this show, including figures with strong gestures rendered in acute detail along with abstract and dynamic brushwork that is a powerful aesthetic dichotomy. “Romantique” is one such example from the show. At center one finds a topless male figure on his knees, his arms stretched as they reach above his head. Upon first glance, the figure’s spatial context seems completely abstracted, imaged with strong planes of color applied with brush and knife. However, extended consideration reveals integrated representational forms. Behind the figure and fluttering like a cape is a cloth-like form that displays a sharpness of line and shadow that contrasts from the color quilting of color beyond. Further, the bottom right of the canvas reveals an eerie subject: a human skeleton. This intense picture seems to reveal a narrative, the details of which are determined by the viewers themselves.
Kent Williams, “Osseous Matter,” oil on linen, 28 x 24 in. (c) EVOKE Contemporary 2015
Kent Williams, “Tomorrow,” oil on linen, 48 x 48 in. (c) EVOKE Contemporary 2015
The skeletal themes of death appear to continue in “Osseous Matter,” a painting whose title alone begs contemplation. In three-quarter view and standing at center, a nude female figure adorns a large necklace made from human bones. Similar to “Romantique,” the figure stands in a swarm of active, abstracted color. In addition to juxtaposing naturalism with abstraction, there is a further play between the figure’s stillness and the active movement of the background. Abstraction appears to become the primary focus in “Tomorrow,” with only miniscule areas given to figurative representation.
Kent Williams, “Cool with Red,” oil on clayboard, 24 x 18 in. (c) EVOKE Contemporary 2015
“Kent Williams: Bones with Flesh” opens on September 25 with a reception from 5 to 7 PM. The exhibition will be on view through October 28.
To learn more, visit EVOKE Contemporary.
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