Roger Williams

Dude, Take Me Apart

The deconstructivist art

 of Roger Williams

Photos Courtesy of Larry Hamill

Roger Williams, now a voice  from  Columbus, Ohio, went to New York  as  a postmodernist artist in 1978, and lived  there for 15 years.  He worked  for art galleries, including  John Weber,  Nina Nosaie and Al Salvatore, and for artists Sol Lewitt and Basquiat. His paintings were shown in Soho, the East Village and uptown galleries.   Here he speaks about his art and career.

A commission, under deconstruction

     
I came back to Columbus in 1993 to take care of a sick friend.  That year I joined the deconstructivist movement with information that I learned in New York.     Deconstructivist (alternatively called “deconstructionist”) art is an outgrowth of postmodern art, a thought  process  by which you analyze … tear apart, the existing  academia.    

Singing Smilies ... 46" x 48"

The result is a lot more energy, with use of conceptual properties overlapping, and layering of rhythms and transparencies. According to the architect Frank Gehry, you can deconstruct anything.

Party on the Island of La Grande Jatte ... 43" x 60"

Gehry deconstructed a fish in Barcelona .  With that in mind I deconstructed  a number of portraits,  cartoon characters,  people, objects, and events that define the decade. 

Gee Haw Whittle Diddle ... 72" x 72"

  
I have my my own  style of deconstructionism. It is formally articulated and the drawing goes to painting dark lines and flat shapes with bright transparent color,   with rolled-on glazes and arbitrary overlaps to find space. 

Mojo the Monkey ... 43" x 60"

The technique is not so painterly or pickled, but with sharp crisp lines with a straight edge built for each task. The subject is very important, as the lyrics must define current events and recent history. This tells the viewer where I am in time. 

Rap Boy ... 48" x 48"

Hometown art-politics here (in Columbus) translates into a popular appreciation for folk art, outsider, untrained, and prison art.  I am the only deconstructivist artist in town . 

Elijah Pierce: Woodcarver, Barber

I have Resistance, but I also have pieces in  many important collections, corporate, private and public.  This  month I am working on five commisions, including a  7′ x 12′ mural called Flight of the Dragon Fly deconstructed  for Cosi’s 10th anniversary celebration. It will be installed at the Cosi building, 333 West Broad Street, Columbus. 

Deconstructed Ellipse

I  have made the transition to deconstructionism and  plan to continue