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Untitled Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 36

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Artist Biography:

Enid Williams grew up in the Central Plains of Texas, surrounded by a rural backdrop of big skies and open spaces. The family farm is still located there and is the place she continues to call home. Williams credits the independent and self-sustaining nature of farm life as the initial inspiration that led her to pursue a career in the arts. She received her M.F.A. in painting from Kent State University and has instructed studio classes at Kent State, Youngstown State, and University of Akron. Her work has been exhibited at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh PA, as well as the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio. She currently teaches art in Greenville Technical College’s Greer campus.

Her awards include: Metropolitan Arts Council Individual Project Award Grant, 2007; Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, 2002; Columbus Museum of Art Purchase Award, 2000; The Hall Memorial Award of Painting, Ohio Art League, 2000; The Carnegie Museum of Art and Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Milono Painting Award 1997; and Studio Arts Scholarship Recipients: Blossom Visiting Artists Program, Kent State University, OH, 1995.

Enid Williams

Greenville

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About the Work:

“My work reveals an interest in both the physical and intellectual process of perception, especially the manner in which we read and understand pictorial space. I rely on a complex ordering of form and color to create elaborate visual scenarios that appear to be in continual flux. Although historical and cultural influences have informed my work, charts that test for colorblindness served as my initial inspiration. I find a certain irony in this source, as the charts are quite beautiful in their own right, and the viewer is persuaded into a longer examination in order to “read” their content. As an artist, I question the possibility of slowing down the viewer’s gaze by creating an image that requires more careful engagement. Consequently when my works are viewed collectively, they reveal color nuances only gradually. There is little evidence of pictorial hierarchy, instead the optical effects create an entirely ambiguous space, both undermining and heightening our desire for logic and order. My vocabulary of small circular shapes is meant to evoke a sense of playfulness, while also reflecting a certain temporality of appearances. In this way meaning might manifest itself in a sense of time and place.”