Black amorphous shapes obstruct a background image of an interior space with fragments of two seated figures, a patterned rug, couch, lamps, house plants and a coffee table with a wine bottle and wine glasses visible.

Abbey Williams

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Abbey Williams, "Untitled (bitch session)", 2021. Enamel, ash, graphite, jet on photographic paper. 21 1/2 x 29 x 2 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

 

Aug. 18–Oct 8., 2021

Art Alliance

 

The Philadelphia Art Alliance at the University of the Arts is pleased to present an exhibition of past, recent and new works by Abbey Williams. In this show, Williams uses the meandering historical spaces of the building to recontextualize her work. A site-specific installation of Intermission (2018/2021) invites the viewer into an immersive mash-up of color, sound and space that addresses ideas of repair and restoration that run through William’s work. Pieces from Williams’ portrait series, including new works Poly and Joan (both 2021), come together in a moving constellation throughout the galleries.

Working primarily in video, Williams has long addressed sexuality, grief, and the body through familiar cinematic forms: subtitles, credits, the intermission.The narrative always arrives through these tropes, in particular, the montage. She pieces together found and filmed images; natural and artificial sound in combination with the Black frame, repeatedly employed around, behind, on top of images, to ask, is this space foreground or background? What if Blackness becomes the opposite of erasure? Does Blackness have to recede? Is the Blackness on top of an image a redaction or a fathomless space of possibility? Recently, this inquiry has expanded to a body of works on paper where images are displayed flatly to reconsider the Black space as pools with depth and points of entry. By redacting these found images, she hopes to remove the privilege and power from the narrative, while creating a new narrative through abstraction. Black space holds the same space an image would–foregrounding Blackness both politically and formally. 

 

Our exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Installation view of works by Abbey Willams in a gallery with white walls and a wooden floor. Throughout the space works of various media are installed in frames on three walls and on pedestals located toward the center of the space.

Installation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

an installation view of a digital video by Abbey Williams projected across a wall in a dark gallery space. The still shown from the video shows a close up of white flowers with yellow centers. The lighting in the video makes parts of the flowers appear to have a slight pink and blue tint.
an installation shot of Abbey Williams' work shows a gallery space with digital monitors scattered around the room leaning against and on top of pillars. The screens displaying stills from various videos each featuring a different a female figure shown.
installation shot of work by Abbey Williams showing a small and narrow space with an allover botanical print wallpaper with a red light illuminating the space. A window along the back wall is covered in blinds. Visible pipes run along the ceiling and a plywood floor is visible.

Top Left:  I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

Bottom Left: I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

Right: I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

 

Gallery
Installation view of works by Abbey Willams in a gallery with white walls and a wooden floor. Works of various media are installed including four framed works along one wall on the left of the image and five black and white pedestals located on the floor toward the center of the space.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

 

Installation of works by Abbey Willams in a gallery with white walls and a wooden floor. Four framed works are along one wall on the left of the image and five black and white pedestals located on the floor toward the center of the space. One pedestal has a digital monitor visible on top displaying hands in a square formation and a green blob on the left.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

 

Bird eye view of Abbey Williams works installed on the top of three black and white pedestals. The works are two dimensionsal, mostly monochromatic and the compositions show textured black amorphous shapes obstructing photographic background images.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

 

an installation shot of Abbey Williams' work in a gallery space. Three digital monitors are around the room leaning against and on top of pillars. The screens displaying stills from various videos each featuring a different female figure shown.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

an installation shot of Abbey Williams' work in a gallery space. Three digital monitors are around the room leaning against and on top of pillars. The screens displaying stills from various videos each featuring a different female figure shown.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

installation shot of Abbey Williams' work. Digital monitors are around the room leaning on pillars and the walls. The screens display stills from various videos each featuring a different figure shown. A monitor in the center of the image depicts a smiling figure wearing black against a grey background with text fragments visible.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

an installation view of a digital work by Abbey Williams is projected across the back wall of a gallery. The projected image shows a close up of white flowers with yellow centers. The lighting in the video makes parts of the flowers appear to have a yellow tint. Solid black bars and the words Chitty Chitty Bang Bang appear in script front across the image.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

A digital video show a statuette or a human form made out of a textured grey material. The figure has a torso, with upper arms and legs but no hands or feet. The head is a textured mound with no facial featured shown. The same image of the figure is shown right side up and upside down.

"Venus", 2021, digital video without sound, total tun time: 3 minutes 23 seconds, edition 1 of 3 + 2 AP.

 

An installation shot of Abbey Williams' work shows a gallery space illuminated with red light with a black pillar at the center. The black pillar shows a digital image of a statue

"Venus" (Installation view), 2021, digital video without sound, total tun time: 3 minutes 23 seconds, edition 1 of 3 + 2 AP.

installation shot of work by Abbey Williams involving a small and narrow space with an allover botanical print wallpaper with a yellow light illuminating the space. A window along the back wall is covered in blinds. Visible pipes run along the ceiling and a plywood floor is visible.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

installation shot of work by Abbey Williams involving a small and narrow space with an allover botanical print wallpaper with a purple light illuminating the space. A window along the back wall is covered in blinds. Visible pipes run along the ceiling and a plywood floor is visible.

I​​nstallation view. Image courtesy of the artist and University of the Arts

Installation view of works by Abbey Willams in a gallery with white walls and a wooden floor. Works of various media are installed including four framed works along one wall on the left of the image and five black and white pedestals located on the floor toward the center of the space.
Installation of works by Abbey Willams in a gallery with white walls and a wooden floor. Four framed works are along one wall on the left of the image and five black and white pedestals located on the floor toward the center of the space. One pedestal has a digital monitor visible on top displaying hands in a square formation and a green blob on the left.
Bird eye view of Abbey Williams works installed on the top of three black and white pedestals. The works are two dimensionsal, mostly monochromatic and the compositions show textured black amorphous shapes obstructing photographic background images.
an installation shot of Abbey Williams' work in a gallery space. Three digital monitors are around the room leaning against and on top of pillars. The screens displaying stills from various videos each featuring a different female figure shown.
an installation shot of Abbey Williams' work in a gallery space. Three digital monitors are around the room leaning against and on top of pillars. The screens displaying stills from various videos each featuring a different female figure shown.
installation shot of Abbey Williams' work. Digital monitors are around the room leaning on pillars and the walls. The screens display stills from various videos each featuring a different figure shown. A monitor in the center of the image depicts a smiling figure wearing black against a grey background with text fragments visible.
an installation view of a digital work by Abbey Williams is projected across the back wall of a gallery. The projected image shows a close up of white flowers with yellow centers. The lighting in the video makes parts of the flowers appear to have a yellow tint. Solid black bars and the words Chitty Chitty Bang Bang appear in script front across the image.
A digital video show a statuette or a human form made out of a textured grey material. The figure has a torso, with upper arms and legs but no hands or feet. The head is a textured mound with no facial featured shown. The same image of the figure is shown right side up and upside down.
An installation shot of Abbey Williams' work shows a gallery space illuminated with red light with a black pillar at the center. The black pillar shows a digital image of a statue
installation shot of work by Abbey Williams involving a small and narrow space with an allover botanical print wallpaper with a yellow light illuminating the space. A window along the back wall is covered in blinds. Visible pipes run along the ceiling and a plywood floor is visible.
installation shot of work by Abbey Williams involving a small and narrow space with an allover botanical print wallpaper with a purple light illuminating the space. A window along the back wall is covered in blinds. Visible pipes run along the ceiling and a plywood floor is visible.

About the Artist

 

Williams’ work has been exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally. Selected group shows and screenings include TATE Britain, London; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; Studio la Città, Verona; BAM, New York; The Studio Museum in Harlem; and MoMA PS1. Solo exhibitions in New York include Bellwether Gallery, Foxy Production and Sargent's Daughters.

Wiliams received her MFA from The Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College, Annandale-on Hudson, New York, and her BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York. She also participated at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. 

Williams has been a visiting artist at The Cooper Union, New York University, Harvard University, Maryland Institute College of Art, and SOMA Mexico. Her work has been written about in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Flash Art and ARTFORUM. She lives and works in Brooklyn with her sculptor husband, zany son and a bossy puppy.