Draft:Randy Williams (visual artist)
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Comment: Many places lack inline citations. This also needs to be greatly trimmed down to his most notable exhibitions and grants/awards. This is just excessive. Sulfurboy (talk) 03:29, 5 August 2026 (UTC)
Randy Williams (born 1947) is an American visual artist based in New York State, known for his multidisciplinary work in painting, sculpture, and installation. His artistic practice acts as "a form of re-constructive surgery" exploring his past and present as a Black American with unwavering integrity through aesthetic intervention.[1]. Williams’ work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA[2]), New York and The Studio Museum in Harlem[3], New York, The New York State/Harlem Art Collection[4], and the Bates Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine.
Randy Williams | |
|---|---|
 Randy Williams in 2024 for Bomb Magazine. Courtesy of the Artist. | |
| Born | 1947 (age 78–79) New York City, NY U.S.A. |
| Occupations | Visual Artist, Educator |
| Awards | The New York Foundation of the Arts, Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts |
| Website | https://randywilliams.net/ |
Early life
[edit]Randy Williams was born in 1947 in New York City, N.Y. He grew up between Harlem, New York, and St. Petersburg, Florida, in the 1960s. [5]Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from New York University and a Masters Degree in Art Education from Sir George Williams University in Montreal. At NYU, his mentors include Richard Ruben, Angiola Churchill, and Audrey Flack[1]. He is a Professor of Studio and Art Education at Manhattanville University and is also an instructor and educational consultant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art[6]. He was an Educator, moving to Senior Educator, then interim Department Head at the Metropolitan Museum of Art over the course of 18 years. In addition, Williams was a Master Teacher then Artistic Director during his 39 years at the New York State Summer School of the Visual Arts. Williams was the Artistic Director of the New York State Summer School of the Arts/ Visual Arts from 1999 to 2013.
Career
[edit]Williams has been a working artist in New York City since the 1970s. His practice is primarily involved with found objects and mixed media. Artworks include installations, constructions, collages, monoprints, watercolors, paintings, and sculpture. He integrates objects such as books, sewing pattern papers, and wood, alongside painting and drawing. Williams’ work often engages with African-American cultural narratives, personal memory, and social justice. In a 2024 oral history with longtime colleague and artist Dan Mills for BOMB Magazine, he discussed his creative process, emphasizing his interest in storytelling through materiality and his desire to challenge conventional artistic forms and expectations[7]
Williams was an active artist with the formation of Just Above Midtown[8] — or JAM, an art gallery and artist collective led by Linda Goode Bryant that created a space for African American artists and artists of color in Midtown Manhattan (opened 1974-1986). The artist's papers and documentation videography for JAM can be found in the JAM Archive[9], acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 2023. Notable exhibition venues include Tate Modern, The Broad, Studio Museum in Harlem, Public Art Fund, CreativeTime, SUNY Fredonia, and SUNY Potsdam.
He has won numerous prizes and awards, including a 1982 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts to the American Academy in Rome. He has also been recognized by the New York State Council on the Arts, Visual Arts Division, and the New York Foundation of the Arts with a Fellowship in sculpture. He received the Manhattanville College Excellence Award in 1995 and 2007, and Manhattanville University Social Responsibility Champion Award in 2026.
Exhibition History
[edit]Solo Exhibitions
[edit]2017 “Monsters at my Studio Door: Sabbatical Door” Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
2016 “Visual Voices” Les Beaux Arts Gallery, Round Hill Community Church, Greenwich, CT
2016 “Double Indecisions” Byram Shubert Library, Greenwich, CT
2015 “Manning, Williams & ART LLP Recent Work” Brownson Gallery, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
2010 “The Uneven Terrain of America's History” Thompson Gallery, Gatthwait Center for Science and Art, Weston, MA
2009 “Irrational Acts of Inclusion/Rational Acts of Inclusion” Thompson Gallery, Gatthwait Center for Science and Art, Weston, MA
2007 “Scholar Rocks” VanDeb Editions, New York, NY
2007 “Installations and Ruminations” Freedman Gallery, Albright College, Reading, PA
2006 “Race, Religion, and the Laws of Gravity” Westchester Community College Fine Arts Gallery, Valhalla, NY
2004 “Fact, Fantasy and Reckoning: Excavating History” Luchinger Gallery, Wallace Performing Arts Center, Greenwich Academy, Greenwich, CT
2003 “Works on Paper” Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, Auroville, India
2003 “Works on Paper” Banaras Hindu University, Faculty of Visual Arts, Varanasi, India
2003 “Navigating 2 United States of America: Art Ideas and Books” College of Staten Island CUNY, Staten Island, NY
2002 “Artist, Objects, Installation, Meaning Room Installation” Samek Art Gallery, Elaine Langone Center, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
2002 “Rational Acts of Exclusion” The Azarian-McCullough Art Gallery, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkell, NY
1999 "I Fell Asleep, and They Left Me Out of Their Dreams” Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee/Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
1998 "I Fell Asleep and They Left Me Out of Their Dreams" Roland Gibson Gallery, State University of New York/College at Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
1994 "Composition In Counterpoint/Works on Paper" The Marcia A. Savage Professorship, Reid Hall, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
1991 "Absence of Memories" Jamaica Arts Center, Jamaica, NY
1988 "One Dream, Two Beds & Four Brothers" GCCA Catskill Gallery, Catskill, NY
1988 “Works On Paper" Brownson Art Gallery, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
1986 “Observation from a Corner Room” Art & Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, FL
1986 Miami-Dade Public Library, Miami, FL
1982 Installation for Burnham Dance Company Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY
1982 "Aneosrep Compromised" Just Above Midtown/Downtown Gallery, New York, NY
1978 “Edges and Insights” Masonic Building, Nassau, Bahamas
1978 “Randy Williams: Constructions” Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
1978 “Randy Williams: Recent Works with Paper” Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
1977 “Randy Williams” Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
1976 “Metaphors for Music” Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
Group Exhibitions
[edit]2026 “Manning, Williams Recent Work” Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery, Manhattanville University, Purchase, NY 2025 “Manning, Williams Recent Work” Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery, Manhattanville University, Purchase, NY
2023 “Manning, Williams Studio S…, II Recent Work” Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery, Manhattanville University, Purchase, NY
2023 “Selection from the Diversify Collection” Bates Museum of Art, Lewiston, MN
2022 "Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces" The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
2020 "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX
2020 "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
2020 “Masked and Unmasked” Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
2019 "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" The Broad, Los Angeles, CA
2019 “Manning, Williams Studio S…, Recent Work” Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
2018 "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
2018 "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
2017 “#46: Artists React to the Current Political Climate” Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, Iona College Council for the Arts, New Rochelle, NY
2017 "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" Tate Modern, London, UK
2002 “The Westchester Biennial 2002” Castle Gallery, The College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY
1995 "Lethal Injection I" One Station Plaza, Peekskill, NY
1995 "Death Penalty: Loss of Conscience" Visual Arts Gallery, SUNY Purchase, Purchase, NY
1985 "Message to the Public" Spectacolor Sign, 42nd Street, Public Art Fund, New York, NY
1983 Collaborative Performance Project, The Burnham Company, Marymount Theater, New York, NY
1982 “Decision By Arms?” Just Above Midtown/Downtown Gallery, New York, NY
1981 Sculpture Installation, The Burnham Company, White Dog Studio, New York, NY
1981 Installation, Artists Teaching, Inc., The Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY
1981 Sculpture Installation, Artists Teaching, Inc., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
1981 Glass and Fluorescent Installation, The Glass Project, Burnham Dance Company, New York, NY
1981 Installation, The Burnham Company, DTW Bessie Schonberg Theater, New York, NY
1981 "Art on the Beach 1" Creative Time, New York, NY
1981 “Turnabout: Artworks by Critics, Curators, and Arts Administrators, Selected by Artists” Just Above Midtown/Downtown Gallery, New York, NY
1980 "Art Across the Park" Outdoor Sculpture Installation, Central Park, New York, NY
1980 “The Grand Central Project, Remy Martin Sculpture Installation” Grand Central Station, New York, NY
1980 "Printed Art: A View of Two Decades" Commissioned print, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY
1980 “Dialogues” Just Above Midtown/Downtown Gallery, New York, NY
1978 “The Process as Art: In Situ” Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
1978 “Contextures '78” Organized by JAM at the Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington D.C.
1977 “The Concept as Art “ Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
1976 “Gallery Group Exhibition” Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
1974 ”Synthesis: A combination of parts or elements into a complex whole” Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York, NY
Special Projects
[edit]Curatorial
[edit]2006 “Artist as Teacher” The Studio: An Alternative Space for Contemporary Art, Armonk, NY
Artist Projects
[edit]2007 “In Memory of my Memories” New York Series Presentation, National Art Education Association Convention, New York, NY
Artist Residencies
[edit]1976 P.S.1, Long Island City, NY
Visiting Artist
[edit]2015- 2026 Visiting Critic, Rhode Island School of Design, Newport, RI
1995 Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, NY
1995 Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Awards & Fellowships
[edit]2026 Manhattanville University Social Responsibility Champion Award
2007 Manhattanville College Excellence Award
2007 New York State Art Teachers Association, Region 7 Art Educator of the Year Award
2007 Charles Robertson Memorial Award, New York City Department of Education and The School Art League
1995 Manhattanville College Excellence Award
1987 The New York Foundation of the Arts, Sculpture
1982 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Academy in Rome
1982 The New York State Council on the Arts, Visual Arts Division
Collections & Commissions
[edit]Banaras Hindu University/ Faculty of Visual Arts, India
The Bates Museum of Art, Lewiston, MN
Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Miami-Dade Public Library System, Dade County, Miami, FL
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY
The New York State/Harlem Art Collection, Albany, NY
Roland Gibson Gallery, State University of New York College at Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Video & Media, Interviews
[edit]Art21 Artist Profile: Randy Williams
Bryant, Linda Goode, camera operator. "Artists David Hammons, Noah Jemison, and Randy Williams Dressing Collector Marquita Pool-Eckert at JAM with Jorge Luis Rodriguez's Circulo con cuatro esquinas (Circle with Four Corners)." 1978. Film, Just Above Midtown (JAM) Records, Collection of Linda Goode Bryant, New York.
"Episode #11: Art is Not About Art w/Randy Williams[10]" Bates Museum of Art, 17 October 2023.
"Hidden Treasures: Stories from a Great Museum" - Self Portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn[6]" Film, Alexandra Isles. 2001
Linda Goode Bryant. “Linda Goode Bryant in ‘Friends & Strangers[11]’” Art in the Twenty-First Century, season 11, Art21, 20 Oct. 2023.
Author, Publications
[edit]Williams, Randolph. "Aesthetic Encounters with Works of Art" Art Education, vol. 45, no. 3, 1992, pp. 25–40.
Brincard, Marie-Thérèse, editor. “Beauty by Design: The Aesthetics of African Adornment” Contributor Randolph Williams, African-American Institute, 1984.
"Universal Structure of Particular Forms" Contributor Randolph Williams, 1985-86.
“Black Arts and Letters” Contributor Randolph Williams, 1970-75.
"Black Creation, a Quarterly Review” Fine Arts Editor/Critic Randolph Williams.
Exhibition Publications
[edit]Godfrey, Mark, and Zoé Whitley, editors. Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. Tate Publishing, 2017.
Lax, Thomas J., and Lilia Rocio Taboada, editors. Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces. The Museum of Modern Art and The Studio Museum in Harlem, 2022
Press & Media
[edit]Genocchio, Benjamin. “Those Who Teach Can[12]” The New York Times, 29 Oct. 2006.
Mills, Dan. "An Oral History with Randy Williams[1]" BOMB Magazine, 12 November 2024.
"A Utopian Space for Black Artists, Reimagined at MoMA[13]" New York Times, 13 November 2022.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "BOMB Magazine | An Oral History with Randy Williams by Dan Mills". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ "Randy Williams | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ "Randy Williams". Studio Museum in Harlem. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ Curatorial and Visitor Services, Office of General Services (August 4, 2026). "The New York State Harlem Art Collection". The New York State Harlem Art Collection Artist Randy Williams.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Williams, Randy (2021). "Randy Williams - Artist". Randy Williams - Artist. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - 1 2 Isles, Alexandra (2001). ""Hidden Treasures: Stories from a Great Museum" - Self Portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn" Film". Vimeo "Hidden Treasures: Stories from a Great Museum". Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ "BOMB Magazine | An Oral History with Randy Williams by Dan Mills". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ "Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ Archives, MoMA. "LibGuides: Just Above Midtown Archives: Home". research.moma.org. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ Bates Museum of Art (October 17, 2023). "Episode #11: Art is Not About Art w/Randy Williams". Bates Museum of Art. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Art21 (October 20, 2023). "Linda Goode Bryant in 'Friends & Strangers". Art21. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Genocchio, Benjamin (October 29, 2006). "Those Who Teach Can". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ "A Utopian Space for Black Artists, Reimagined at MoMA". The New York Times. September 13, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help)
"Episode #11: Art is Not About Art w/Randy Williams" Bates Museum of Art, 17 October 2023.
"Hidden Treasures: Stories from a Great Museum" - Self Portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn" Film, Alexandra Isles. 2001
Linda Goode Bryant. “Linda Goode Bryant in ‘Friends & Strangers.’” Art in the Twenty-First Century, season 11, Art21, 20 Oct. 2023.
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