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Draft:Michael Kelly Williams

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Michael Kelly Williams working on a woodcut litho. Source: Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop.[1]

Michael Kelly Williams (born March 8, 1950) is an American printmaker, sculptor, mixed-media artist, and educator. Born to American parents and raised in Detroit, Michigan, his practice spans sculpture, printmaking, and works on paper. His work draws on music, poetry, literature, nature, mythology, folk and ancient art, and the art of the African diaspora, with recurring interests in spirituality, environmental concerns, equality, justice, Afrofuturism, irony, and surrealism. He lives and works in upstate New York. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Early life and education

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Williams was born at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and grew up in Detroit. His father, artist Kelly Williams, used the G.I. Bill after World War II to study art in France with Fernand Léger. Williams began making prints and sculpture while attending Cass Technical High School in Detroit. [5] [4]

He earned a B.F.A. in Printmaking from the University of Michigan in 1975. He studied Egyptology briefly at The University of Chicago in 1977–78. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1988 and earned an M.F.A. in Sculpture from Brooklyn College in 1996. [1] [6] [4]

Career, teaching, and residencies

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Williams moved to New York City in 1979. From 1979 to 1983, he studied and taught at Robert Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop. He studied with Krishna Reddy at his atelier at NYU in 1980 and developed a stencil monoprint technique based on the viscosity he learned from Reddy. He later became the first recipient of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Legacy Publishing Fellowship and received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for sculpture in 2018–19. [1] [4]

Williams working on a sculpture. Source: Materials for the Arts.[7]

Williams's residencies include The Studio Museum in Harlem, Materials for the Arts in Long Island City, and Wave Hill in the Bronx. He was an artist-in-residence at The Studio Museum in Harlem from 1986 to 1987. Williams also worked for many years as an educator in the New York City Department of Education system and served as a teaching artist at the Children's Art Carnival from 1979 to 1986. [2] [8] [4]

In film, Williams served as art director for Julie Dash's 1991 film Daughters of the Dust. [5] [4]

Artistic practice and themes

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Williams works in sculpture, printmaking, and mixed media. His three-dimensional work frequently incorporates found or repurposed objects, including musical-instrument parts and other everyday materials. His work engages with jazz and improvisation, African-diasporic traditions, spirituality, social justice, environmental concerns, mythology, and the transformation of discarded materials into new associations.[1] [9] [2] [10] [11] [4] [12]

Works

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Samta uses the body of a sitar and a watermelon form in an assemblage addressing discrimination against Dalits in India. The work reflects Williams's broader interests in spirituality, justice, world cultures, ancient and folk art, and found-object sculpture. [11]

Resist depicts a young girl behind bars and was created in response to news of children being separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. [11]

Additional works include:

Work Details Reference
Algiers Motel 2017; woodcut and lithograph; 29 × 36 in.; edition 20 [1]
Self Portrait '73 Block carved 1973; printed 2017; 30 × 22 in.; edition 20 [1]
Tenacity 2017; lithograph; 25.5 × 19.25 in.; edition 20 [1]
Summer in Central Park 2018; lithograph and chine collé; 31 × 22.25 in.; edition 10 [1]
Can I get a Witness? 2017; woodcut; 22 × 30 in.; edition 20 [1], [10]
The Mingus Songbook Found-object sculpture discussed in FiveMyles retrospective [9]
Shout Seven-foot assemblage centered on a trombone [9]
Xenogenesis Assemblage completed in 2016; includes carvings from The Tin Palace [9]
Mother and Child Stoneware sculpture; FiveMyles notes Japanese Ukiyo-e influence [9]
Cosmic Cowboy Raku work inspired by Ishmael Reed's poem “I'm a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra” [9]
Intervale Study #5 / Intervale Study, The El #5 1991; Kenkeleba caption: monoprint with pastel, 34 × 48 in.; press release uses a longer title variant [14]
Iron Man 2022; tribute to Eric Dolphy and Greg Tate [14]
Whistleman 2021; dedicated to Rahsaan Roland Kirk [14]
Green Sweeper 2022; discussed in relation to Native American issues [14]
Wodakota 2017; viola-and-rake assemblage; made in solidarity with Standing Rock water protectors [14], [10]
Khepera 2023; scarab work dedicated to the Egyptian deity [14]
For Paul Chambers 1974; woodcut [14]
Jes Grew 1986; monoprint; title linked to Ishmael Reed's novel [14]
Afternoon of a Georgia Faun Color woodcut; included in the Crossings exhibition materials [14]
Tell Me A Bedtime Story 2021; ink drawing; relates to a Herbie Hancock composition [14]
Things to Come from Those Now Gone 2018; found-object assemblage; Wallach gives 65 × 36 × 38 in. [14], [6]
Olu Iwa: For Cecil Taylor Yorùbá-inspired shrine/assemblage dedicated to Cecil Taylor [14]
Horns 1984; described by Kenkeleba as an abstracted cityscape-related work [14]
Meditations 2016; assemblage; 48 × 16 × 12 in. [6]
For Geri 2019; metal keys, glass beads, threaded wire, circular mirror; 21 × 15 × 15 in. [6]
M'Boom 2016; steel, wood, iron, glass and brass assemblage; title honors Max Roach's percussion ensemble [10]
Middle Passage 2016; named in The 8th Floor essay [10]
Protect Yo Net 2016; named in The 8th Floor essay [10]
Samta 2017; mixed-media sculpture; 50 × 19 × 12 in. [11]
Resist 2018; drypoint; 15 × 13 in. [11]
Through a Veil 2020; chromogenic color print [10]
A Celebration of All Life 2019; presented in Wave Hill's What We Leave Behind [6]
Sojourner, Harriet, Shirley and Maya 2022; collagraph with chine collé [10]
BrownPinkTaínoBlackGold 2018; lithograph in gold ink on pink Yatsuo paper, flocked with gold pigment [10]
Liturgy for Lenox Lounge 2016; approximately 8-foot-tall public sculpture installed near Malcolm X Boulevard and 124th Street [5]
El 2 and El 5 1992; glass mosaics on the Intervale Avenue station mezzanine walls [15]
Exhibition view of Michael Kelly Williams: Crossings (2024), Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba. Source: Kenkeleba House.[14]

Selected exhibitions and projects

[edit]
  • Works on Paper: Chashama 461 Gallery, New York; May 22–31, 2015. [4]
  • Found and Funky: Materials for the Arts, Long Island City; produced in connection with Williams's MFTA residency. [7]
  • Liturgy for Lenox Lounge: Public sculpture installed on Malcolm X Boulevard near 124th Street, 2016. [5]
  • UPTOWN: Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University; June 2 – August 20, 2017; Williams was among 25 participating artists. [13]
  • Sedimentations: Assemblage as Social Repair: The 8th Floor; includes Wodakota, M'Boom, Middle Passage, and Protect Yo Net. [10]
  • EMPATHY: Smack Mellon; November 17 – December 30, 2018; included Samta and Resist. [11]
  • Persistence, Vision & Passion = Longevity: Conduit Gallery group exhibition, 2019. [16]
  • Harlem Postcards: Studio Museum in Harlem; January 23 – March 29, 2020; included Through a Veil. [3]
  • Returning to the Source: Wave Hill, 2020; group exhibition featuring Williams. [8]
  • I Am My Best Work: The Painting Center; July 9 – August 7, 2020. [17]
  • A Retrospective: FiveMyles; September 10 – October 16, 2022; curated by Carl E. Hazlewood. [9]
  • What We Leave Behind: Wave Hill, 2022; included A Celebration of All Life. [18]
  • Michael Kelly Williams: Crossings: Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba; September 18 – November 2, 2024; curated by Debra Vanderburg Spencer; featured 48 sculptures and works on paper and board from 1974 to 2024. [14]
  • America Today: The Print Center, 2026; Williams is listed with three works on the exhibiting-artists page. [12]
  • Press & Pull: A Legacy of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop: Gallery 400, University of Illinois Chicago; scheduled for September 11 – December 12, 2026. [19]

Public commissions and installations

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  • El 2 and El 5, Intervale Avenue subway station, Bronx: two glass mosaics on the mezzanine walls, installed in 1992. [15]
El 2 and El 5, glass mosaic murals at Intervale Avenue subway station, Bronx. Source: CultureNow.
  • P.S. 82 Hammond School, Queens: Williams created several glass murals for the school. [2]
  • Liturgy for Lenox Lounge, Harlem: an approximately 8-foot-tall public sculpture installed on Malcolm X Boulevard near 124th Street as a tribute to the former Lenox Lounge and its musical history. [5]

Collections

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Williams's work is held in the collections of the following institutions: [1] [2] [12]

  • Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York
  • Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
  • Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Honors and grants

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  • Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Legacy Publishing Fellowship, first recipient. [1] [17]
  • Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, 2018–2019. [1] [17]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Michael Kelly Williams". Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Michael Kelly Williams". The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Harlem Postcards". The Studio Museum in Harlem. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Works on Paper". Chashama. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Kambon, Mariamma (May 10, 2016). "Our Music Continues: Michael Kelly Williams". Mariamma Kambon. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alumni & Faculty". Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Michael Kelly Williams". Materials for the Arts. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Returning to the Source". Wave Hill. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "A Retrospective". FiveMyles. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "SAaSR Essay". The 8th Floor. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "EMPATHY – Illustrated Exhibition Checklist" (PDF). Smack Mellon. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "America Today Exhibiting Artists". The Print Center. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  13. 1 2 "UPTOWN". The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Michael Kelly Williams: Crossing". Kenkeleba House. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Public Art in the Bronx – Artists". Lehman College. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Persistence, Vision & Passion = Longevity". Conduit Gallery. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 "I Am My Best Work". The Painting Center. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  18. ↑ "What We Leave Behind – Glyndor Gallery". Wave Hill. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Press & Pull: A Legacy of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop". Gallery 400. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
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