James Williams II

Williams’ work uses satire and visual riposte to challenge the ambiguity of the black construct as both an object and racial classification. His use of shadows, video, paper, velcro, and sculpted wooden objects are attempt to find humor and understanding in the inaccuracies and indecisiveness of racial classifications of Black Americans and the achromatic color they both share.

James Williams II is an interdisciplinary artist and curator whose work encompasses painting, sculpture and photography. His works center on topics of social and cultural identity in the United States tied together by self-portraiture and narration. His most recent project was curating the show, Whatchamacallit. Williams is the recipient of the MFA Joan Mitchell Foundation award, the Bromo Seltzer Fellowship, and served as artist-in-residence at School 33 in Baltimore, Maryland. Williams, originally from Upstate New York, received his master’s degree from the Mount Royal School of Art at MICA.

Courtesy of Resort