Allowing for his figures to activate their own space, one Haitian painter calls for a suspension of naturalism.
Space, movement and time are what concerns painter and printmaker Didier William, who strives to have “figures become fluid and malleable,” he said during his lecture in Loyola Hall on Feb. 16. But before paying attention to these concerns, the artist must first know the surface he or she is dealing with and the nature of the bodily form, according to William.
As a physical painter, William finds his greatest connection to his artwork in his ever-changing location of home. Born in Haiti and raised in Miami, Florida, his relationship with space was always shifting.
Analogous for his altering home identity, William allows space to consume itself in his work. Because of this, he lets his wood and charcoal paintings develop organically, particularly with his use of gel stain.
“It became a whole new character for me. Everything would lead to something new,” said Williams about his collaboration with his materials. Wood, charcoal and stain connected more for him than a brush, paint and canvas.
With his use of gel stain, William’s drawings become suspended, allowing for his materials to dictate how the painting will appear.
This “primal relationship,” as William referred to it, becomes an “unpredicted catalyst” because of the forcefulness of the gel stain.
Connecting to his home roots, William looks at family stories, old photographs and the distance between reality and birthplace to create his figures, seeking his connection to the world around him.
“I wanted figures to relish in space of home and imagination,” William said of the weightlessness, depth and concavity of his work, wanting to give all his figures a “life of their own.”
While creating his large charcoal on wood displays, William works on the floor to always alter his viewpoint and orientation, once again finding a connection to his shifting grounding. Moreover, he views all work as a series, all part of the same narrative.
This allows him to become more engaged in his work, seeking out a direct, physical relationship with it, while still having the bodily control over his figures. Knowing the body form and how it moves allows him to manipulate it.
William de-familiarizes the body to the point where it becomes foreign. Even though his figures become unfamiliar, people can still connect and relate to the form of the body. This is how the “paintings begin to talk back,” said William.
“I definitely connected to the work, especially once he explained his process and the inspiration behind each piece,” said Samantha Palazzi ’13, a studio art minor. “His work was extremely abstract and used a wide variety of mediums and media, but he had such characterization behind it that he almost convinced the audience that it wasn’t abstract at all.”
Born in 1983 in Haiti, William moved to Miami at the age of six. As time went on he made his sojourn up north, where he finally ended up in Connecticut, receiving various awards such as MFA Fellowships and Excellence in Arts and Painting.
William received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art and then continued his schooling to obtain a Master of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking in 2009 from the Yale School of Art at Yale University.
“I think it is important to see how an artist talks about their work in order for me to know how I can be shaping the vague aspects of my own projects, [which]my audience will have the opportunity to interpret and make their own,” said new media student Katie Boyle ’13, who was in attendance for her New Media 10 course.
For an artist whose home was always changing, William has found his grounded identity through his painting, which he fills with lively bodily figures. He navigates his paintings, keeping his direct relationship intact.
For one who wonders what it would be like get underneath his trusting, yet skeptical gel stain, Didier William has learned to trust his materials, allowing for a natural suspension to take place.
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