Christopher Williams (born 1956 in Los Angeles) is an American conceptual artist and fine-art photographer who lives in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and works in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Early life and education

Williams was born in 1956 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. His father worked in Hollywood as a

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

artist. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he studied at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

where he received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. under the first generation of West Coast conceptual artists including

John Baldessari John Anthony Baldessari (June 17, 1931 – January 2, 2020) was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a paint ...

, Michael Asher, and Douglas Huebler.

Work

Writing in ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'' in 2007, art critic

Tim Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas, attorney general of Arkansas. He served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, lieutenant governor of Arkans ...

described Williams's approach as sociophotographic but more generally can be described as a political and historical practice. It has been said that Williams works within the tradition of

institutional critique In art, institutional critique is the systematic inquiry into the workings of art institutions, such as galleries and museums, and is most associated with the work of artists like Michael Asher (artist), Michael Asher, Marcel Broodthaers, Daniel B ...

within what Sven Lütticken describes as an informal group, along with

Willem de Rooij Willem de Rooij (born 1969 in Beverwijk, Netherlands) is an artist and educator working in a variety of media, including film and installation. He investigates the production, contextualization and interpretation of images. Appropriations and collab ...

, Jeroen de Rijke and Mathias Poledna, that investigates the "parameters of the exhibition space." Chronologically, however, he belongs to

The Pictures Generation ''The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984'' was an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City that ran from April 29 – August 2, 2009. The exhibition took its name from ''Pictures'', a 1977 five person group show organ ...

. In 1982 Williams had his first solo exhibition at Jancar Kuhlenschmidt Gallery in Los Angeles. ''Angola to Vietnam'' is a photography portfolio of glass flowers.This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s, February 11 – June 3, 2012

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is on ...

. In 2000, at an exhibition at

David Zwirner Gallery David Zwirner Gallery is an American contemporary art gallery owned by David Zwirner. It has four gallery spaces in New York City and one each in Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, and Paris. History The Zwirner Gallery opened in 1993 on the gr ...

, in New York, Williams showed twenty photographs including a series of pictures of a 1964

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

automobile on its side. Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Ken Johnson said, "the Renault was made in a French factory where significant revolutionary activities took place in 1968; hence it is tipped up like a barricade." Williams' photographs oftentimes show increasingly obsolescent film-based equipment—cameras,

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

es and

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, make Photographic printing, prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including ...

gear—as beautiful and precise as catalog product shots. The accompanying text adds detail about how the equipment was used. Made by a professional photographer who follows Williams's directions, the conventionally scaled pictures have the glossy lucidity of excellent commercial photographs.

Educator

Since October 2008 he has been a professor in photography at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

Personal life

Williams' wife Ann Goldstein is curator and deputy director and chair of modern and contemporary art at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

.Organization: Directors: Ann Goldstein
,

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

. Retrieved on 2012-09-27.Nina Siegal
Restoring a Long-Missing Dutch Reference Point
''

'', 2012. Retrieved on 2012-09-27.

Publications

*''Christopher Williams: The production Line of Happiness.'' . Exhibition catalogue. **London:

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fi ...

, 2014. **Walther König, 2014. *''Christopher Williams: Printed in Germany.'' Walther König, 2014. . Exhibition catalogue.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*2005: Secession, Vienna *2005: Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany *2006: Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal *2007:

Kunsthalle Zürich The Kunsthalle Zürich is a kunsthalle (a contemporary art exhibition centre) in Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 1985, it is located on Limmatstrasse, near the city centre. A number of temporary exhibitions are organized each year. Directors * ...

*2010: Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany *2010: Bergen Kunsthall, Norway *2011: Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany *2011: Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium *2013: ''Christopher Williams: For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 18),'' David Zwirner, London *2014 at

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

and traveled to

The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of arc ...

, New York *2020: Christopher Williams ''Model: Kochgeschirre, Kinder, Viet Nam (Angepasst zum Benutzen)'', C/O Berlin, Berlin *2024: Christopher Williams: Radio/Rauhfaser/Television, Neubauer Collegium, Chicago

Exhibitions with others

*2013: 55th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

, curated by

Massimiliano Gioni Massimiliano Gioni (born 1973) is an Italian curator and contemporary art critic based in New York City, and artistic director at the New Museum. He is the artistic director of the Nicola Trussardi Foundation in Milan as well as the artistic dir ...

Awards

*2005:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

*2005–2006:

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

Grants to Artists Award *2014: Photography Catalogue of the Year,

Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards The Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards is a yearly Photo-book, photography book award that is given jointly by Paris Photo and Aperture Foundation. It is announced at the Paris Photo fair and was established in 2012. The categories ...

for ''Christopher Williams: The Production Line of Happiness'' and ''Christopher Williams: Printed in Germany.''Announcing the Winners of The Paris Photo—Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards 2014
,

Aperture Foundation Aperture Foundation is a nonprofit arts institution, founded in 1952 by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Barbara Morgan (photographer), Barbara Morgan, Dorothea Lange, Nancy Newhall, Beaumont Newhall, Ernest Louie, Melton Ferris, and Dody Warren. Their ...

. Accessed 30 October 2015.

References

Literature

Burton, Johanna. “Christopher Williams at David Zwirner.” ''Artforum'' (May 2008): 376-377.

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110616193544/http://www.davidzwirner.com/pdf.htm?href=%2Fresources%2F31617%2FCW%20Artforum%20Godfrey%2007-05.pdf Godfrey, Mark. “Christopher Williams.” ''Artforum'' (May 2007): 366.]
Lütticken, Sven. “Gegen die Wand.” ''Texte Zur Kunst'' (June 2009): 121-123.

External links

* ttp://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/christopher-williams/ Christopher Williams at David Zwirner
Gisela Capitain GalleryChristopher Williams
at

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Christopher 1956 births Living people Grinnell College alumni Artists from California American photographers American conceptual artists Academic staff of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf American fine art photographers