A program of Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá
A cultural program of:
A program of Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá
A cultural program of:
Pilgrimages of Belonging Madeleine Bialke, Caleb Hahne-Quintana, Konstantina Krikzoni, Ella McVeigh and Brittney Leeanne Williams.
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good. A sense of belonging implies an affinity or connectedness with a place, social or cultural group. In Pilgrimages of Belonging, Newchild presents a group exhibition exploring the desire we all have to belong, and the journeys we embark on to find ourselves.
In Pilgrimages of Belonging themes of journeys are both real and imagined. Depictions of real journeys range from intimate scenes of individual departures and returns to universal encounters with nature or long distances travelled to find our ancestral places. But more often the artworks have been inspired by journeys of the mind: roaming through the mountains or escaping to wilderness retreats or utopian paradises that can provide refuge, if only vicariously, from challenging realities.
These artists in this exhibition, represent a microcosm of the experiences in the journey to find ourselves and where we belong. Belonging is a powerful feeling that shapes our identity. It explores the intangible and tangible approaches we engage in developing and maintaining our sense of connectedness across time and space while also negotiating how we feel part of a place or a group while remaining open to the other.
Newchild is located in Antwerp, Belgium, and serves as a physical and digital platform for both established and emerging artists providing a context conducive to meaningful exchange and cross-pollination, and to this end fosters a collaborative environment for artists, curators, institutions and collectors. With an exhibition space of approximately 120 sqm in the Zuid district of Antwerp, Newchild seeks to create offbeat exhibitions, where collaboration, exchange, narrative and conceptualism find their meeting point.
Two important aspects of Newchild’s mission are to contribute to the international conversation surrounding contemporary art and our time’s crucial debates and to offer a platform to the voices of artists whose careers have contributed to the dialogue of art outside of Belgium. Most of the artists exhibited/represented have never been shown in Antwerp or Belgium before.
Newchild was founded in 2020 by Diego Castaño, Chandler Noah and Sarah Vanwelden.
Ella McVeigh (b. 1992 London) lives and works in London, UK and has recently graduated with an MA in Painting from The Royal College Of Art. Her paintings are webbed with art history, the role of nature in art-making and the possibilities and meanings of painting today. Starting primarily from found imagery of the natural world, McVeigh explores painting as a mental performance of visual decision-making. Whereby these images from her personal collection, ranging from studio shots of flower arrangements to encyclopedias on minerals and geology, are the trigger of an array of mental connections to other images and experiences. McVeigh’s purely abstract work is a persisting interrogation of line, colour and form through paintings and drawings that capture in great detail the complexities of looking at images, while also eluding any efforts to be read as stories. She sees her way of painting as a problem-solving process, creating harmony out of chaos while combining natural and artificial structures. McVeigh’s practice incorporates oils on canvas, gouaches on paper, and drawing. Her formats are varied in scale but often sizes ranging from 1.5 m up to 3 m in length/height. Recent exhibitions in solo and group format include Each Glance Branching, Newchild, Antwerp (2022); Seven Sisters, Chadwell Award, London (2021); Wild Blue Yonder, Newchild, Antwerp (2021); and Tomorrow: London, White Cube, London (2020). McVeigh is a recipient of the Chadwell Award (2020).
Ella McVeigh (b. 1992 London) lives and works in London, UK and has recently graduated with an MA in Painting from The Royal College Of Art. Her paintings are webbed with art history, the role of nature in art-making and the possibilities and meanings of painting today. Starting primarily from found imagery of the natural world, McVeigh explores painting as a mental performance of visual decision-making. Whereby these images from her personal collection, ranging from studio shots of flower arrangements to encyclopedias on minerals and geology, are the trigger of an array of mental connections to other images and experiences. McVeigh’s purely abstract work is a persisting interrogation of line, colour and form through paintings and drawings that capture in great detail the complexities of looking at images, while also eluding any efforts to be read as stories. She sees her way of painting as a problem-solving process, creating harmony out of chaos while combining natural and artificial structures. McVeigh’s practice incorporates oils on canvas, gouaches on paper, and drawing. Her formats are varied in scale but often sizes ranging from 1.5 m up to 3 m in length/height. Recent exhibitions in solo and group format include Each Glance Branching, Newchild, Antwerp (2022); Seven Sisters, Chadwell Award, London (2021); Wild Blue Yonder, Newchild, Antwerp (2021); and Tomorrow: London, White Cube, London (2020). McVeigh is a recipient of the Chadwell Award (2020).
Ella McVeigh (b. 1992 London) lives and works in London, UK and has recently graduated with an MA in Painting from The Royal College Of Art. Her paintings are webbed with art history, the role of nature in art-making and the possibilities and meanings of painting today. Starting primarily from found imagery of the natural world, McVeigh explores painting as a mental performance of visual decision-making. Whereby these images from her personal collection, ranging from studio shots of flower arrangements to encyclopedias on minerals and geology, are the trigger of an array of mental connections to other images and experiences. McVeigh’s purely abstract work is a persisting interrogation of line, colour and form through paintings and drawings that capture in great detail the complexities of looking at images, while also eluding any efforts to be read as stories. She sees her way of painting as a problem-solving process, creating harmony out of chaos while combining natural and artificial structures. McVeigh’s practice incorporates oils on canvas, gouaches on paper, and drawing. Her formats are varied in scale but often sizes ranging from 1.5 m up to 3 m in length/height. Recent exhibitions in solo and group format include Each Glance Branching, Newchild, Antwerp (2022); Seven Sisters, Chadwell Award, London (2021); Wild Blue Yonder, Newchild, Antwerp (2021); and Tomorrow: London, White Cube, London (2020). McVeigh is a recipient of the Chadwell Award (2020).
Madeleine Bialke (b. 1991 New York) creates highly personal landscape paintings which stem from a desire to simplify nature. This desire originated as a result of environmental connotations (extinction, domestication global ecological devastation) but was also born out of hope. The hope that the simplification of a complex subject matter such as the natural world might encourage empathy and could become a gateway to further understanding. Her post-apocalyptic depictions of forests and landscapes are enveloped in romantic ideas of their sublimity. Growing up in Upstate New York, close to the Adirondack Mountains, Bialke became fascinated with the power of nature and humanity’s smallness. A recurring element in her work is the solace that nature can bring, and its ability to encourage sincerity in oneself. Only alone in the presence of nature is one able to cast off any societal shackles and the need to perform for others. Bialke’s ethereal landscapes emit a dreamlike quality, blanketed in luminescent colours that appear to glow beyond the canvas upon which they are painted. Focussing on the supple rounded forms of trees and flora, Bialke’s nature is anthropomorphised, tree limbs and softly curved plants appear analogous with the figures and animals littered sparsely amongst the picture plane. Within her practice, Bialke uses colour to generate and indicate emotion. Less interested in the accurate hues of a landscape, her colouring favours a silken palette of iridescent and hazy shades. She received her BFA in Studio Art from the Plattsburgh State University of New York, Plattsburgh, later undertaking an MFA in Painting at the Boston University, Massachusetts. She has exhibited widely, including recent shows at Steve Turner, Los Angeles; Alexander Berggruen, New York; Berkshire Botanic Gardens (curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody), Stockbridge; Sof:Art Foundation, Bologna, and Newchild Gallery, Antwerp, among others Bialke was the Artist-in-Residence at North Western Oklahoma State University in 2018 and was awarded the John Walker MFA Painting and Sculpture Award in 2016. Bialke’s work is part of notable collections such as Fundacion Medianoche0, Spain, and the collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Madeleine Bialke (b. 1991 New York) creates highly personal landscape paintings which stem from a desire to simplify nature. This desire originated as a result of environmental connotations (extinction, domestication global ecological devastation) but was also born out of hope. The hope that the simplification of a complex subject matter such as the natural world might encourage empathy and could become a gateway to further understanding. Her post-apocalyptic depictions of forests and landscapes are enveloped in romantic ideas of their sublimity. Growing up in Upstate New York, close to the Adirondack Mountains, Bialke became fascinated with the power of nature and humanity’s smallness. A recurring element in her work is the solace that nature can bring, and its ability to encourage sincerity in oneself. Only alone in the presence of nature is one able to cast off any societal shackles and the need to perform for others. Bialke’s ethereal landscapes emit a dreamlike quality, blanketed in luminescent colours that appear to glow beyond the canvas upon which they are painted. Focussing on the supple rounded forms of trees and flora, Bialke’s nature is anthropomorphised, tree limbs and softly curved plants appear analogous with the figures and animals littered sparsely amongst the picture plane. Within her practice, Bialke uses colour to generate and indicate emotion. Less interested in the accurate hues of a landscape, her colouring favours a silken palette of iridescent and hazy shades. She received her BFA in Studio Art from the Plattsburgh State University of New York, Plattsburgh, later undertaking an MFA in Painting at the Boston University, Massachusetts. She has exhibited widely, including recent shows at Steve Turner, Los Angeles; Alexander Berggruen, New York; Berkshire Botanic Gardens (curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody), Stockbridge; Sof:Art Foundation, Bologna, and Newchild Gallery, Antwerp, among others Bialke was the Artist-in-Residence at North Western Oklahoma State University in 2018 and was awarded the John Walker MFA Painting and Sculpture Award in 2016. Bialke’s work is part of notable collections such as Fundacion Medianoche0, Spain, and the collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Madeleine Bialke (b. 1991 New York) creates highly personal landscape paintings which stem from a desire to simplify nature. This desire originated as a result of environmental connotations (extinction, domestication global ecological devastation) but was also born out of hope. The hope that the simplification of a complex subject matter such as the natural world might encourage empathy and could become a gateway to further understanding. Her post-apocalyptic depictions of forests and landscapes are enveloped in romantic ideas of their sublimity. Growing up in Upstate New York, close to the Adirondack Mountains, Bialke became fascinated with the power of nature and humanity’s smallness. A recurring element in her work is the solace that nature can bring, and its ability to encourage sincerity in oneself. Only alone in the presence of nature is one able to cast off any societal shackles and the need to perform for others. Bialke’s ethereal landscapes emit a dreamlike quality, blanketed in luminescent colours that appear to glow beyond the canvas upon which they are painted. Focussing on the supple rounded forms of trees and flora, Bialke’s nature is anthropomorphised, tree limbs and softly curved plants appear analogous with the figures and animals littered sparsely amongst the picture plane. Within her practice, Bialke uses colour to generate and indicate emotion. Less interested in the accurate hues of a landscape, her colouring favours a silken palette of iridescent and hazy shades. She received her BFA in Studio Art from the Plattsburgh State University of New York, Plattsburgh, later undertaking an MFA in Painting at the Boston University, Massachusetts. She has exhibited widely, including recent shows at Steve Turner, Los Angeles; Alexander Berggruen, New York; Berkshire Botanic Gardens (curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody), Stockbridge; Sof:Art Foundation, Bologna, and Newchild Gallery, Antwerp, among others Bialke was the Artist-in-Residence at North Western Oklahoma State University in 2018 and was awarded the John Walker MFA Painting and Sculpture Award in 2016. Bialke’s work is part of notable collections such as Fundacion Medianoche0, Spain, and the collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Caleb Hahne-Quintana (b. 1993 Denver) poetically illustrate his memories and lived experiences. Focusing on ambience rather than content, his intimate works address and explore themes of vulnerability and boyhood through a romanticization of mundane moments captured on paper or canvas. Delving into personal empiricism of his childhood as a Jewish Latin-American in rural Colorado, his pieces examine how we visualize and perceive our past experiences, transforming actual events into dreamlike realities on canvas. Caleb Hahne’s portraits, which feature a delicate interplay of soft light and shadow, focus on the haziness of memory and boyhood itself. Hahne often obscures his subjects’ faces and focuses instead on close-cropped hands or wide-angle views of the backs of heads. The artist uses acrylic, pastel, graphite, and coloured pencil to depict the particularities of movement and gesture; his often anonymous subjects ride on horseback or enjoy moments of quiet intimacy. Hahne has exhibited in Denver, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Berlin, among other cities. He has participated in group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and the New Museum in New York. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BFA in Fine Arts from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. In 2021, he exhibited a solo booth with 1969 Gallery at the Armory Show. His residencies include 1969 Gallery Residency, The Cabin LA, ShowPen, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, and Adventure Painting. Denver Westword named Hahne one of the 100 Colorado Creatives of 2014 and one of the Top 10 Artists to watch in 2015. He is listed as one of the top 10 contemporary artists under 40 by Widewalls.
Caleb Hahne-Quintana (b. 1993 Denver) poetically illustrate his memories and lived experiences. Focusing on ambience rather than content, his intimate works address and explore themes of vulnerability and boyhood through a romanticization of mundane moments captured on paper or canvas. Delving into personal empiricism of his childhood as a Jewish Latin-American in rural Colorado, his pieces examine how we visualize and perceive our past experiences, transforming actual events into dreamlike realities on canvas. Caleb Hahne’s portraits, which feature a delicate interplay of soft light and shadow, focus on the haziness of memory and boyhood itself. Hahne often obscures his subjects’ faces and focuses instead on close-cropped hands or wide-angle views of the backs of heads. The artist uses acrylic, pastel, graphite, and coloured pencil to depict the particularities of movement and gesture; his often anonymous subjects ride on horseback or enjoy moments of quiet intimacy. Hahne has exhibited in Denver, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Berlin, among other cities. He has participated in group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and the New Museum in New York. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BFA in Fine Arts from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. In 2021, he exhibited a solo booth with 1969 Gallery at the Armory Show. His residencies include 1969 Gallery Residency, The Cabin LA, ShowPen, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, and Adventure Painting. Denver Westword named Hahne one of the 100 Colorado Creatives of 2014 and one of the Top 10 Artists to watch in 2015. He is listed as one of the top 10 contemporary artists under 40 by Widewalls.
Caleb Hahne-Quintana (b. 1993 Denver) poetically illustrate his memories and lived experiences. Focusing on ambience rather than content, his intimate works address and explore themes of vulnerability and boyhood through a romanticization of mundane moments captured on paper or canvas. Delving into personal empiricism of his childhood as a Jewish Latin-American in rural Colorado, his pieces examine how we visualize and perceive our past experiences, transforming actual events into dreamlike realities on canvas. Caleb Hahne’s portraits, which feature a delicate interplay of soft light and shadow, focus on the haziness of memory and boyhood itself. Hahne often obscures his subjects’ faces and focuses instead on close-cropped hands or wide-angle views of the backs of heads. The artist uses acrylic, pastel, graphite, and coloured pencil to depict the particularities of movement and gesture; his often anonymous subjects ride on horseback or enjoy moments of quiet intimacy. Hahne has exhibited in Denver, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Berlin, among other cities. He has participated in group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and the New Museum in New York. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BFA in Fine Arts from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. In 2021, he exhibited a solo booth with 1969 Gallery at the Armory Show. His residencies include 1969 Gallery Residency, The Cabin LA, ShowPen, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, and Adventure Painting. Denver Westword named Hahne one of the 100 Colorado Creatives of 2014 and one of the Top 10 Artists to watch in 2015. He is listed as one of the top 10 contemporary artists under 40 by Widewalls.
Konstantina Krikzoni’s (b. 1987 Greece) work sits between abstraction and figuration. Her paintings are infused with energy that she considers to be an autobiographical choreography between her body and the canvas. Her works primarily with oil on canvas, watercolour on paper and mixed media, explore themes of childhood, memory, feminism, trauma and sexuality. All is achieved whilst she deconstructs the female figure and transforms it by making room for as many spirits as possible: “travellers, sleepwalkers or phantoms, ambivalent seductive beings, selfish metamorphs and sexual parasites”, she calls them. These “creatures” are often referred to as undefined emotions. Her powerful red, embroidered canvases are like healing, born out of her intuition in response to a domain where bodily touch becomes an embroidered second skin engaging with a visceral form of visual storytelling, and tactility forms a visual language where painting, performance and symbolism coalesce and women reign in an enormous scale. She holds an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art. She studied painting at the School of Visual and Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2015); and mathematics at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the same university(2010). She is a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (2020) and of a NEON Organisation for Culture and Development scholarship (2020/21, 2021/22), while she has been shortlisted for a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship (2021). She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). Her work has been exhibited in London (The ceiling with a tranquil eye, Cork St Galleries, 2021), in Entrevaux, France (Les danses nocturnes, curated by East Contemporary Gallery, Spread Museum Entrevaux, 2021), in Berlin (ELF – Schaufenster Gallery, 2020; L’artiste et les commissaires, Lage Egal Gallery, 2019; and All out, KWADRAT Gallery, 2019) and in Athens (2020 Rooms, Kappatos Gallery). She lives and works in London, UK.
Konstantina Krikzoni’s (b. 1987 Greece) work sits between abstraction and figuration. Her paintings are infused with energy that she considers to be an autobiographical choreography between her body and the canvas. Her works primarily with oil on canvas, watercolour on paper and mixed media, explore themes of childhood, memory, feminism, trauma and sexuality. All is achieved whilst she deconstructs the female figure and transforms it by making room for as many spirits as possible: “travellers, sleepwalkers or phantoms, ambivalent seductive beings, selfish metamorphs and sexual parasites”, she calls them. These “creatures” are often referred to as undefined emotions. Her powerful red, embroidered canvases are like healing, born out of her intuition in response to a domain where bodily touch becomes an embroidered second skin engaging with a visceral form of visual storytelling, and tactility forms a visual language where painting, performance and symbolism coalesce and women reign in an enormous scale. She holds an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art. She studied painting at the School of Visual and Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2015); and mathematics at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the same university(2010). She is a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (2020) and of a NEON Organisation for Culture and Development scholarship (2020/21, 2021/22), while she has been shortlisted for a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship (2021). She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). Her work has been exhibited in London (The ceiling with a tranquil eye, Cork St Galleries, 2021), in Entrevaux, France (Les danses nocturnes, curated by East Contemporary Gallery, Spread Museum Entrevaux, 2021), in Berlin (ELF – Schaufenster Gallery, 2020; L’artiste et les commissaires, Lage Egal Gallery, 2019; and All out, KWADRAT Gallery, 2019) and in Athens (2020 Rooms, Kappatos Gallery). She lives and works in London, UK.
Konstantina Krikzoni’s (b. 1987 Greece) work sits between abstraction and figuration. Her paintings are infused with energy that she considers to be an autobiographical choreography between her body and the canvas. Her works primarily with oil on canvas, watercolour on paper and mixed media, explore themes of childhood, memory, feminism, trauma and sexuality. All is achieved whilst she deconstructs the female figure and transforms it by making room for as many spirits as possible: “travellers, sleepwalkers or phantoms, ambivalent seductive beings, selfish metamorphs and sexual parasites”, she calls them. These “creatures” are often referred to as undefined emotions. Her powerful red, embroidered canvases are like healing, born out of her intuition in response to a domain where bodily touch becomes an embroidered second skin engaging with a visceral form of visual storytelling, and tactility forms a visual language where painting, performance and symbolism coalesce and women reign in an enormous scale. She holds an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art. She studied painting at the School of Visual and Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2015); and mathematics at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the same university(2010). She is a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (2020) and of a NEON Organisation for Culture and Development scholarship (2020/21, 2021/22), while she has been shortlisted for a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship (2021). She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). Her work has been exhibited in London (The ceiling with a tranquil eye, Cork St Galleries, 2021), in Entrevaux, France (Les danses nocturnes, curated by East Contemporary Gallery, Spread Museum Entrevaux, 2021), in Berlin (ELF – Schaufenster Gallery, 2020; L’artiste et les commissaires, Lage Egal Gallery, 2019; and All out, KWADRAT Gallery, 2019) and in Athens (2020 Rooms, Kappatos Gallery). She lives and works in London, UK.
Brittney Leeanne Williams (b. 1990, Pasadena, CA) takes the body as the main subject of her pictorial investigations. Her works depict figures in transformation, bodies oddly twisted and shaped, human-like shapes that are subject to unseen pressures or forces that lie beyond the edge of the canvas. A struggle which seems to happen simultaneously internally and externally, a duality between exhaustion and strength. The figures twist and knot themselves into emotional landscapes, to such an extent that bodies and landscapes meld into one otherworldly entity. The bodies in William’s paintings endure complex, physical manoeuvres and often find themselves carrying the weight of another figure, leading to an interpretation of familial relationships and suggesting that the aforementioned bodies might be holding the weight of psychological traumas (some of which are yet to come). Her landscapes are transformed from Southern Californian idyllic views into what she calls “emotional landscapes: representations of psychological states, memories, and emotional ties,” by injecting her omnipresent, often red, folded figure into the architecture of the environment. Williams’s female forms serve as conduits to viewing a dimension of the artist’s spirit and her exploration of feminine and Black identities. Williams attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, London, Venice, Italy, Antwerp, Copenhagen, and Hong Kong, as well as in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. She is a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient and a Luminarts Fellow. Williams’s artist residencies include Arts + Public Life (University of Chicago) and McColl Center for Art + Innovation, among others. Her work is included in the public collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA; the Domus Collection, Beijing, CN; Fundacion Medianoche0, Granada, ES; the MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL; and X Museum, Beijing, CN. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Brittney Leeanne Williams (b. 1990, Pasadena, CA) takes the body as the main subject of her pictorial investigations. Her works depict figures in transformation, bodies oddly twisted and shaped, human-like shapes that are subject to unseen pressures or forces that lie beyond the edge of the canvas. A struggle which seems to happen simultaneously internally and externally, a duality between exhaustion and strength. The figures twist and knot themselves into emotional landscapes, to such an extent that bodies and landscapes meld into one otherworldly entity. The bodies in William’s paintings endure complex, physical manoeuvres and often find themselves carrying the weight of another figure, leading to an interpretation of familial relationships and suggesting that the aforementioned bodies might be holding the weight of psychological traumas (some of which are yet to come). Her landscapes are transformed from Southern Californian idyllic views into what she calls “emotional landscapes: representations of psychological states, memories, and emotional ties,” by injecting her omnipresent, often red, folded figure into the architecture of the environment. Williams’s female forms serve as conduits to viewing a dimension of the artist’s spirit and her exploration of feminine and Black identities. Williams attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, London, Venice, Italy, Antwerp, Copenhagen, and Hong Kong, as well as in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. She is a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient and a Luminarts Fellow. Williams’s artist residencies include Arts + Public Life (University of Chicago) and McColl Center for Art + Innovation, among others. Her work is included in the public collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA; the Domus Collection, Beijing, CN; Fundacion Medianoche0, Granada, ES; the MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL; and X Museum, Beijing, CN. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Brittney Leeanne Williams (b. 1990, Pasadena, CA) takes the body as the main subject of her pictorial investigations. Her works depict figures in transformation, bodies oddly twisted and shaped, human-like shapes that are subject to unseen pressures or forces that lie beyond the edge of the canvas. A struggle which seems to happen simultaneously internally and externally, a duality between exhaustion and strength. The figures twist and knot themselves into emotional landscapes, to such an extent that bodies and landscapes meld into one otherworldly entity. The bodies in William’s paintings endure complex, physical manoeuvres and often find themselves carrying the weight of another figure, leading to an interpretation of familial relationships and suggesting that the aforementioned bodies might be holding the weight of psychological traumas (some of which are yet to come). Her landscapes are transformed from Southern Californian idyllic views into what she calls “emotional landscapes: representations of psychological states, memories, and emotional ties,” by injecting her omnipresent, often red, folded figure into the architecture of the environment. Williams’s female forms serve as conduits to viewing a dimension of the artist’s spirit and her exploration of feminine and Black identities. Williams attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, London, Venice, Italy, Antwerp, Copenhagen, and Hong Kong, as well as in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. She is a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient and a Luminarts Fellow. Williams’s artist residencies include Arts + Public Life (University of Chicago) and McColl Center for Art + Innovation, among others. Her work is included in the public collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA; the Domus Collection, Beijing, CN; Fundacion Medianoche0, Granada, ES; the MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL; and X Museum, Beijing, CN. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
