About
Tony Williams Jr is a multidisciplinary artist working out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While working primarily within the medium of paint, his exploration of materials and practices extends into clay, conceptual installations, and photography. Tony has found success in curatorial positions, aiding in the installation of several exhibitions across numerous galleries. He has been an artist in residence at Watershed Center Ceramic Arts and was selected to attend Penland School of Craft as a 2021 summer scholarship award winner. Tony will graduate from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in the Fall of 2022 with a BFA in Studio art, with a concentration in painting.
Artist Statement
Tony Williams is a multidisciplinary artist, focused on investigating the history of tension, violence and trauma that exist within the space of their African American and White bi-racial heritage. Tony combines historical studies and memoir to speak to the complexities of their mixed-race identity in the United States and its origins. Tony aims to develop a representation of melanated skin using a hybrid of fibers, and historically bound materials such as wood, cotton, rice, tobacco, and clay. The often maimed, stretched, knotted and crude construction of these pieces mimics that of the bodies and lives belonging to African Americans throughout the history of the United States, and people of color that still grapple with the aftermath of the development and imposition of whiteness globally.
