Laura Cleary Williams
Abstract painter based in Chattanooga, Tennessee
ABOUT
Williams’s abstract spaces are an ode to an imperfect language. Through motion, she makes marks that translate thought - subconscious – a viscerally understood language. Williams works from her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2009 she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Next, Williams received a full scholarship to complete her Master's in Printmaking in 2012 at SCAD-Atlanta. Williams worked at SCAD‘s Southeastern Center for Printmaking. There, she worked on an ambitious print collection with Kiki Smith and Valerie Hammond. Initially working as an assistant printer, Williams was indispensable to the project and was promoted to the assistant project manager. On the heels of this project, Williams founded, managed, and co-owned Straw Hat Press, which specialized in fine art publishing and contract printing. As Straw Hat flourished, Williams realized that despite her success in printmaking, she would always be devoted to her love of drawing. Subsequently, she left Atlanta and returned to her hometown to pursue her career as a gallery artist, where she is still drawing.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings trace the boundaries of my imagination. Patterned with gestural lines inspired by the abstract expressionists, each piece is a collection of choices that together are alive. My work breathes like a cobweb in the wind - faint, delicate, and ephemeral. No matter the material or discipline, my work is rooted in drawing. This process - drawing, examining, finding a flaw, and making changes - is the heart of my creative practice.
Throughout my life, I have floundered with language. Art provided me with a visual vocabulary in which I no longer felt restricted. Drawing unbound my voice. With each line and every stroke, I document my existence. Layers of paper, paint, dust, and glitter are the scars left behind as I strive to express what language denied me. Each painting is a stolen moment of peace and beauty amid the never-ending battle between my dreams and desires, my regrets and pain. My work is a love letter to the girl I was and to everyone who yearns to express what cannot be said with words. Each piece is an imperfect sonnet to the power of imagination and joy of expression.
Website: www.lauraclearywilliams.com
Instagram: @lauraclearywilliams