Carl Joe Williams (30 July 1970, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American visual artist based in New Orleans.

Art career

Williams creates paintings and painted sculpture from

found object A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already hav ...

s, references to pop culture and rhythmic patterns inspired by the geometric forms found in nature. His work was included in Reverb: Past, Present, Future, at the

Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans) The Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans is an arts complex located in historic downtown New Orleans. Founded in 1976, the center plays host to events and performances from visual arts to concert performances and lectures. General gallery adm ...

, where New York curator, Isolde Brielmaier, unpacked the tenth anniversary of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

through the survey show. "I had this old chair that sat in my bathroom for the longest time, and I always saw it as a piece of sculpture. It looks like a hanger, but it almost looked like a piece of African sculpture to me." He describes his works as “symphonies of colors” that present a powerful visual experience. Williams’ installation, Journeys, was featured at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (Atlanta, GA) in 2002. And his Sculptural Trees public art installation in

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is ...

was described as reminiscent of “lollipops in a

Candyland ''Candy Land'' is a simple racing board game created by Eleanor Abbott and published by Milton Bradley in 1949. The game requires no reading and minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children. No strategy is involved as players ...

forest,” with their custom acrylic light boxes attached to crepe myrtles. Williams is one of the founders of Blights Out, a

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has co ...

supported project in New Orleans along with artists Lisa Sigal and Imani Jacqueline Brown. Blights Out is a community- and artist-led initiative to activate agency in neighborhood development. This initiative was initiated as part of

Prospect New Orleans Prospect New Orleans is a multi-venue contemporary art event in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Prospect.1 "Prospect.1 New Orleans" ran from November 2008 to January 2009. Conceived in the tradition of the international biennials, such as the Ven ...

, the largest biennial of international contemporary art in the U.S. His visual interpretations are enhanced by his vision of art and music as extensions of one another. An accomplished musician as well as a visual artist, Williams incorporates his musical compositions into videos and installations. Found objects play an important role in Williams’s works by becoming elements a narrative continuum that addresses societal and historical concerns. Williams attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Art (NOCCA) where he received formal training. Williams continued his studies at

Atlanta College of Art The Atlanta College of Art (ACA) was a private four-year art college located in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Founded in 1905, it was the oldest art college in the Southeastern United States, Southeast when it was sold out by the ...

earning his BFA. Williams is a founding member of Level Artist Collective, which includes artists Ana Hernandez, Horton Humble, Rontherin Ratliff, and John Isiah Walton. Williams has had a variety of exhibitions including at the George Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, at Crystal Bridges, at Convergence: JMC@P3 Exhibition in conjunction with Prospect 3+ New Orleans, Curated by Deborah Willis and Sponsored by the Joan Mitchell Center, New Orleans Museum of Art, Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art (solo), at McKenna Museum of African American Art, Hammonds House Galleries, Atlanta, GA and permanent public art installations in Atlanta at

Sweet Auburn Curb Market The Municipal Market is a historic market located in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia's Sweet Auburn Historic District at 209 Edgewood Avenue, S.W. The market operates as a nonprofit enterprise, with the building leased from the City of Atlanta ...

(as part of

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

) and at the Washington Park Tennis Center. In 2013 he was a recipient of the

Joan Mitchell Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

Center NOLA Studio Artist Residence Program. His work is included in the

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission. Overview ...

Collection.

References

External links

artist's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Carl Joe 1970 births Living people African-American artists Artists from New Orleans Atlanta College of Art alumni 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American artists

Art career

See also

References

External links