Nicholas C Williams: Coterie
13th October – 11th November 2-23
The Horse Hospital
Colonnade, Bloomsbury
London
WC1N 1JD
The first London exhibition in over thirty years of painter Nicholas C Williams will open at the Horse Hospital, Bloomsbury, this October during Frieze week.
The show presents a group of new paintings and sculptures shaped by the stirrings of our post-trust age; of hidden agendas, the opacity of power and the conspiratorial dialogues that routinely unsettle our perception of the world. Williams said, ‘After the catastrophic invasion of Iraq in 2003, I began turning over thoughts concerning the increasingly impenetrable side of society and of our institutions, of sofa government, smoke and mirrors’. The show will include five plaster masks, that each appear in the accompanying paintings.
The testimony his patient naturalism brings into view is one embedded in a startling encounter with the visual world. It’s as though the paintings themselves can’t believe what it is they’re seeing.’ – Ben Street, writer & historian.
In 1994, Williams set up studio in a former lifeboat station on the north coast of Cornwall, working with local people as models. The station’s cavernous space allowed him to pursue methodologies developed by Caravaggio and his followers – of painting in a darkened room, working direct from the model and using light as a way to navigate through a painting.
Williams commented, ‘The Horse Hospital is unique among London’s galleries, in its ethos, programming and as a space. It is perhaps a perfect match for viewing my work, as the space is not dissimilar to the ambience of my studio, and its black ribbed floors keeps any reflected light to a minimum’.
Nicholas C. Williams is a British painter and draughtsman whose work examines aspects of human behaviour conveyed through symbolism and direct observational painting. Solo shows include the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth; Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro; and Liverpool Cathedral for the European Capital of Culture. Public collections include Bournemouth Central Library, Falmouth Art Gallery, Frissiras Museum, Athens and the British Museum. Williams lives and works in Cornwall, South West England and is a lifelong surfer.
©2023 Nicholas C Williams
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