Artist Profile

James Williams’ primary artistic interest is the delineation of human conduct. His intuitions of the people he observes in everyday life become the images of those in his work. Williams' foremost goal is fidelity to his vision: "I want to paint what I perceive accurately. At least that." Through the use of chiaroscuro and strong colors he evokes the drama--and the humanity, inhumanity, and merely bestial-- of the day-to-day human predicament.

Williams has exhibited in numerous shows during the past years, and his art is in corporate and private collections in the United States, Mexico and France. One of his works was selected to be an illustration in a book of poetry to be released shortly by Vandora Press.

James has had a one-person shows at the Academy of Trial Lawyers in Raleigh, NC, at Pluto Gallery in Greensboro, NC, at Visual Arts Studio in Richmond, VA, and a recent two-person show at the Black Rock Arts Center in Germantown, MD.

He received First Place Prize in the 50th Annual Juried Show at the Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC.

Upcoming one-person shows include: Crocker's Mark Art Gallery, Raleigh, NC, June-July, 2008; Red Clover Gallery, Landrum, SC, Sept. 2008; and National Center for the Humanities, Research Triangle Park, NC, November, 2008.

Williams showed early interests in drawing and in chemistry. Like painting, chemistry finds meanings in colors and color changes, and allows one to see beneath the surface to expose an interior reality or constitution. He received a Ph. D. in Chemistry from Princeton University. While working in labs in the U. S. and in England, he realized that his vocation lay in creating art. Williams is a self- taught artist and began seriously producing and exhibiting his work
even before quitting chemistry. James is really an ‘Alchemical’ Artist.

Praise for James Williams

"I think your pastel drawings challenge viewers on many levels, stir emotions on many levels, and offer decadent experiences on many levels. I must say that at a quick glance I was a bit put off by… 'animal' pastels. That was a shallow glance. The more I looked, the more pulled in I became. The humor, the social commentary, the political, the cry, the laugh, the anger and the bliss are all richly portrayed."
Avery Shaffer, Gallery Owner