Artist Bio
www. acquaetta.com
Artist Bio:
Acquaetta Williams’s art has been a life journey from glassblower to sculpture and now painter. Her inspiration evolved from vision of African Images to tell the story of African American Women in a sense of relevance in a complexity of her feelings, thoughts and memories. Williams reflects on her past to form an identity. She tells a story in assemblages of materials contained in Giraffe Neck Women, Women Who Carry and then into Timekeepers and Deconstructing Time: Memories. and now Faceless Melodies. Her love for art was cemented under instructor and well known artist Harvey Littleton at the University of Wisconsin. were she received a MFA degree. An Arts International Travel Grant that was awarded to her included travels through Benin in West Africa. She has exhibited her art Nationally, in Uncommon Beauty in Common Objects: The Legacy of African American Craft Art which included a tour throughout the United States, visiting 5 major museum, as well as International: the International Glass Exhibition, Kanazawa, Japan and “Color 2018”, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gyeonggi, Korea.
Artist Statement:
My collage paintings are abstract representations – the faceless: street musician, religious frantic and the homeless, their voices echo emotional agitation and sensitivity – the music. Balancing repetitive curves, slashes canvases that reveal more physical form, gritty textures, sharp bold colors that speak to us with compassion and love. Who are those who orchestrate this music, “I am homeless.” They are faceless, vulnerable and fragile.
These urban dwellers have only the repetitive voice of a broken record. I use this material to build intimacy between the viewer and myself.
Solo Exhibitions:
2018 Playin’ to the Edge, Publick Playhouse, Hyattsville, MD
Rachel Schlesinger Concert & Arts Center, NVCC , VA
2016 Faceless Melodies, Publick Playhouse, Hyattsville, MD
2015 Arts Harmony Hall Regional Center, Fort Washington, MD
2011 DC Glassworks, Hyattsville, MD
2008 A Gathering of the Tribes, New York, NY
2007 New Door Creative, Baltimore, MD
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2020 42nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Abstract Only, Hawaii Island Art Alliance, Wailoa Center, Hilo, HI
Symbiotic Presence, 32th Annual Prince George’s County Juried Exhibition, Brentwood Arts Exchange, Hyattsville, MD
Cerulean Arts Gallery, 8th Annual Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
10th Annual Pinnacle National Juried Art Competition, Foster Tanner Arts Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
Into the Light, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana,
CA
Abstract National Exhibition, Mark Arts, Wiedermann Gallery, Wichita, KS
Reflections, Vancouver Arts Space, Vancouver. WA
WA 2020, Waterloo Arts Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2019 Colour and Form Society, 67th Open Juried Exhibition, Toronto, ON
Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
Lines, Shapes and Objects (Internet)
Bold Expressions, Northern California Arts, Sacramento, CA
2nd Tri-Annual Maryland State Artist Exhibition, MD
Time, Mills Pond Gallery, St James, NY
Reflections on Light, Wohlfarth Gallery, Washington, DC Non Objective Abstract Art, 3 Square Art Gallery, Fort Collins, CO Prince George’s County Exhibition, Lowe House, Annapolis, MD
Melody of Art, Serendipity Labs, Bethesda, MD
Hill Center Galleries, Regional Juried Exhibition, Washington, DC
2018 WCADC at The Cooley Gallery, Leesburg, VA (September 2018 ) Color 2018, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gyeonggi,Korea
Does It Match the Couch?, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Bring It, Prince George”s County Exhibition, Lowe House,
Annapolis, MD
Professional Experience:
Guest Lecturer, Bowie State University, Bowie, MD, 2008
Guest Lecturer, Columbus, OH, 1994-1995
Arts International Travel Grant, Nigeria, Africa, 1994
Artist-In-Residence, New York Experimental Glass Workshop, New York, NY, 1993
Instructor: Beginning Glassblowing, New York Experimental Glass Workshop, New York, NY 1993
Collections:
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (pending 2020)
Bowie State University, Permanent Collection, Bowie, MD
The White House, Permanent Collection Christmas Ornament, “She Is Safeguarding the Peace”, Washington, DC
The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, OH,
Collection AT&T Corp., The AT&T Learning Center, Basking Ridge, NJ
Corning Museum, Corning, NY
Museum of Arts & Design (formerly American Craft Museum ), New York,NY
Sheldon M. Barnett, MD, Milwaukee, WI
Artist Statement
Artist Statement
I have worked in a variety of media, sharing my thoughts and emotions. Different from my family and friends, I searched for individuality; it remains with me even today. I found a voice in glassmaking, a non-traditional approach, pushing the material to its limits and questioning the concept of functionality inherent in the vessel form. The finished results are fragile, delicate, streamlined shapes that accent the sculptural presence. Many of my earlier vessels make reference to the traditions and sensibilities of Japanese architecture, interior arrangements and packaging.
Why do I create Art? It is to remind people of there humanity.
My life journey continues. My art objects are no longer about the beauty but the strength of the material — glass. The ‘Power Figures’ are African images that are both humanistic and sculptural, a collaboration within myself. Carving and sandblasting glass images, creating spirits that transform objects that could possess the power of healing, settling disputes and safeguarding peace. I have introduced a ritual quality in my art. The viewer is enticed to explore the translucent layers, the sharp diagonal cuts and to compare colors and textures.
My current work combines an assemblage of re-purposed materials to create fragmented compositions of expressive lyrical movement. Vertigo explosions of saturated energy overpower the rigid stability of a rectangular space, establishing bold and shifting perspectives that constantly offer more to be discovered.
These compositions are made of diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines. Moon shaped eclipses rotate counter clockwise woven together with scribbled messages that keep the eye constantly moving. The reflective energy of vinyl plays to the illusion of shapeshifting through the tiniest of light; it moves and flickers refusing to settle down. The vinyl pulls the canvas away from the wall at the same time drawing in the viewer closer.
Suspiciously lurking in the shadows is paper; it remains anonymous — exploding in volume, in texture and form. Its repetitive nature adds dimension, distinctive details and it complements my geometrical sense of balance. The viewer is slightly thrown off-center that because these recognizable objects so simple in line and edge, can hold such a stable tension.
My collage paintings are faceless and embody the street musician, the religious frantic and the homeless. Their voices echo emotional agitation and sensitivity, often through music. Balanced repetitive curves reveal more physical form, gritty texture and sharp bold color, while speaking to us with compassion and love. Who is orchestrating this music? “I am homeless.” Layered surfaces unzip and gently peel away, revealing the spiritual transformation; the heart and determination of individuals who have become invisible.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/abstract-mind-cica-museum-gyeonggido-korea
I’m asking for funds to address the shipping cost for 2 works from, my series, Faceless Melodies, to the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea for an exhibition entitled “Abstract Mind”, and International exhibition scheduled for February 17th to March 7th, 2021. The two works, “Let Go” and “Whispers” need to be shipped by the last week of January 2021 to arrive at the museum 10 days prior to opening. Funding donations would be appreciated at any level. The International air cost with Fed-x round trip is $2700.00.
