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About Me
Artist Bio
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 visual language resides between organic and architectural form; a montage of fragments that are lyrical in movement, charged with emotions, and woven together with subliminal messages. My collages record my feelings, dreams, places and things that I love and remember. I wish to build a bridge between traditions that have been lost. And how I interpret the use of materials achieved through color, texture and scale that are often subtle and varied. Drawing from elements as diverse as vegetable papyrus, flowers, brass, copper, aluminum, gold and silver leaf, taken together, transmute to reflect polarities of struggle and transcendence.
I approach my canvas like that of a worn plaster wall. Layers of papers of repeatedly glued announcements and other pieces of information, that are torn and weathered from sun, wind and rain, peeling away — exposed. It’s never— ending cycle of content being drawn, erased, pasted over and peeled off. One can help but wonder about the people involved and the passage of time.
Resume
Solo Exhibitions:
2020 Art in Embassy, Ouagadougou, Burkina, Faso, 2020-2024
2018 Northern Virginia Community College
2016 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
1999 Somerset, County Arts Council, Crisfield, MD
1991 William H. Thomas Gallery, Columbus, OH
Benjamin-Marcus Gallery, Columbus, OH
1987 Cultural Arts Center, Columbus, OH
1981 Northern State College, Aberdeen, S.D.
Group Exhibitions:
2025 “Celebration Of Being” Global Healing, International Art Education Therapy Development Academic Association, Online Exhibition, China
Mcllroy Gallery, Mattie Arts Center, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, FL
Essence in Bloom: A Celebration of Black Legacy, Culture, and Artistic Expression, Seattle, WA
2024 We’re Twenty, Newdoor Creative, Baltimore, MD
Naturalist Gallery Abstract Collection, Online Exhibition, DC
Craft In Color, Racine Art Museum, WI
Colors: Unfolding Prismatic Perspectives, Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation, Online Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain
Prince George’s County Exhibition, Lowe House, Annapolis,
2023 Colorful Symphony, Online Exhibition, 2023/2024
Life In Layers, Brentwood Arts Exchange Gallery, Greenbelt, MD Vibrant Colors, Ten Moir Gallery, Online Exhibition, Honorable Mention
The Healing Power of Color In Art, Online Exhibition, Manhattan Arts International
Women of Color, Liz Long Gallery Urban Retreat Art Center, Chicago, IL
Renewal, Lowe’s Building at the Capitol, Annapolis, MD
2022 New Editions, New Door Creative, Baltimore, MD Hope and Healing, Montpelier Art Center, Laurel, MD
Mood, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlantic, GA Racine Art Museum Showcase: Focus on Glass, Racine, WI Racine Art Museum: Abstraction, Racine, WI
Hill Center Arts Galleries, Washington. DC
2021 Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art: Salon des Refuses, Wausau, WI
Finding Home 2021, Harmony Hall Arts Center, Fort Washington, MD
Biannual Regional Women in the Arts, Seton Hill University, Harlan Gallery, Greensburg, PA
MFA’s Corporate Connections 2021, National Harbor, MD United Through Arts 2021 Art of Japan Juried Exhibition Online Medford Arts
Untold Black Stories in Contemporary Art, Jacoby Arts Center, Alton, IL
Artist Statement #6, CICA Museum, Gyeonggi, South Korea Artists to Follow in 2021, Virtual Exhibition, Michael Rose Fine Art, Providence Arts Club, NewEngland
International Perfume Bottle Association, Virtual Competition
Rewrite Realty, Independent & Image Art Space, Virtual Exhibition, Chongqing, China, https://independentimage.org/ ARTLAND: https:// www.artland.com/exhibitions/rewrite-reality virtual exhibition: https:// artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/ex
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
Prince George’s County Exhibition, Lowe House, Annapolis, MD
Professional Experience:
Fellini Residency, Kyoto, Japan, 2024
Artist-In-Residency, Arte-Sumapaz, San Bernardo, Cundinamarca, Columbia, 2023
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
Judge, International Porcelain Competition, Columbus, OH, 1992 Scholarship, Master Glass Class, Pilchuck Glass School, Seattle, WA, 1991 Visiting Artist, University of Illinois, Carbondale, IL, 1991
Lecturer, Acquaetta Williams, Cincinnati Museum, Cincinnati, OH, 19933
Publications:
Abstract Magazine, 2024
A Like Artist, Collector Art book, AI-Tiba9 Contemporary Art, Volume 2, Barcelona, Spain, 2023
Wow Art Magazine, Volume 1, Dubai, 2023
COLOURS, Issue No. 12 Special Edition, September 2022
Where Magazine, Washington D C, Preview: “Four Score” Jean Lawlor Cohen, p. 23, February, 2009
The Urban Glass Art Quarterly: No. 112, review: “Deconstructing Time: Memories,
“ Robert C. Morgan, p. 89, Fall, 2008
Perspectives: Authentic voices of African Americans, Curriculum Associates, Textbook Diverse Perceptions, Selections from the AT&T Collection, (32 ready to mail full color post cards), the AT&T Learning Center, 1997
Dialogue: Volume 17, no 1, January/February, 1994, cover photo
Collections:
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
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, 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, W
Education:
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, MFA
University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, BFA
Art In Public:
Virginia Commonwealth University Out Patients Building, Richmond, VA
Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation, Greenbelt, MD
Revival Hotel, Baltimore, MD
Morris Cancer Center, Robert Wood Johnson, University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ
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.