The exhibition ‘Aubrey Williams’ was organised by the Institute of International Visual Arts and the Whitechapel Gallery, shown from 12 June – 16 August 1998. It was the first major retrospective of his work shown in Great Britain, spanning his earlier career through to two significant series – the Shostakovich and the Olmec-Maya series of paintings. Williams’ drew his inspiration from a spectrum of cultural influences, including classical music, tropical birds and astronomy. His deep interest in pre-Columbian culture and his passion for the music of Dimitri Shostakovich had strongly influenced the paintings of both series. The exhibition was curated by Andrew Dempsey.
Aubrey Williams Exhibition
12 Jun-16 Aug 1998Aubrey Williams is one of the most original post-war British artists. The Guyana-born artist brought together a spectrum of visual influences and cultural perspective in his paintings that ranged from classical music to pre-Columbian iconography. Moving between figuration and abstraction, Williams' paintings defy easy categorisation.
