Dessinateur et peintre, Kent Williams est considéré par ses pairs comme l’un des plus grands auteurs de « Graphic Novel » dans l’univers du 9ème Art et un exceptionnel peintre figuratif contemporain. Son style néo-expressionniste unique et intense s’impose comme une référence mondiale.
Cette exposition présentera un panel de ses albums phares en Bande Dessinée, soit une centaine d’œuvres originales : des planches couleurs de Blood, Tell me Dark et Wolverine-Meltdown ; des pages encrées de Wolverine-Killing , ainsi que bon nombre de planches en couleur directe et Noir & Blanc de The Fountain. Quelques peintures et dessins originaux, spécialement réalisés pour cet événement, seront aussi exposés.
Que se soit en Bande Dessinée ou en Peinture, Kent Williams explore de façon subtile le lien ténu qui nous lie en tant qu’êtres humains. Son génie se révèle par le travail sur les corps, dont il dresse un portrait sans concession.
Daniel Maghen et Kent Williams sont heureux de vous convier au vernissage le vendredi 07 octobre à partir de 19h.
Exhibition of Kent Williams
From 05 to 22 October 2011
Opening friday, october 7
For his first exhibition in France and on the occasion of the reprinting of his acclaimed album, Tell me, Dark (from EP editions) and the release of his new monograph of paintings, Eklektikos (from ASFA), Daniel Maghen Gallery is pleased to welcome the American artist Kent Williams.
Draftsman and painter, Kent Williams is considered by his peers as one of the most formidable authors of the graphic novel in the world of the 9th Art and a powerful contemporary figurative painter. His is an intense and unique realism with combined attributes of abstraction and neo-expressionistic sensibilities.
The beginning of his career led him to work for the major American publishers, Marvel and DC Comics; which includes the album, Havok and Wolverine: Meltdown. Emmanuel Proust has translated editions of his major works: Tell me, Dark ; Blood: A Tale (Book I and II and The Fountain , from the screenplay by director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan).
This exhibition features 100 original works from his albums: Color pages of Blood, Tell me, Dark and Meltdown, inked pages of Wolverine: The Killing, many color and black & white originals from The Fountain, and new paintings and drawings created especially for this exhibition.
Whether in painting or comics, through his uncompromising work with the human body, exploring the tenuous connection that binds us together as human beings and reminding us of what we are, Kent Williams’ genius is revealed.
Kent Williams and Daniel Maghen are pleased to invite you to the opening Friday, October 7 at 7PM.
Contact Anabelle Araujo : +33(0)142 843 739 ou +33(0)642 413 094
En Français :
Principalement peinture figurative, le travail de Kent Williams explore, autant en profondeur que subtilement et souvent à travers la suggestion de narration tissé de symbolisme, le fil de la vie qui nous lie ensemble en tant qu’êtres humains. Adoptant nos vertus, non sans appréhender nos fautes, il dresse notre portrait de façon intense et pénétrante.
Diplômé du Pratt Institute à New York, Kent Williams dessinateur prolixe et peintre, travaille aussi sur différentes voies artistiques telles que les nouvelles graphiques (graphic novel) dont la dernière en date est The Fountain (scénario de Darren Aronofsky), la gravure, la photographie, le design, l’architecture, …
Kent Williams a fait l’objet de bon nombre d’expositions en solo à New York, Berlin, Santa Fe, San Francisco, … et à Los Angeles chez Merry Karnowsky Gallery. Ses peintures sont collectionnées par des stars telles que Robin Williams, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Darren Aronofsky, Alex O’Loughlin, Meg White et d’autres collectionneurs influents du monde entier.
De son dernier artbook « Eklektikos », le critique Peter Frank le présente comme suit : « Regarder une peinture de Kent Williams c’est comme croire que vous êtes dedans – ou plus précisément de croire que vous êtes dedans et en dehors au même moment, suspendu entre des niveaux de réalité identiques à ceux des modèles des ses toiles. Ce ne sont pas des portraits à regarder à la légère, ils expriment un état – physique, mental, émotionnel, Humain … Et ces états affectent tous ceux qui en sont témoins. »
Kent Williams a été professeur instructeur à la Pratt Institute. Il donne désormais des cours dans différentes écoles de Californie. Il habite à Los Angeles. Il a 2 garçons : Kerig Sun et Ian Kai.
In English :
Kent Williams is a contemporary figurative painter whose approach to his subjects is often subjective and intense. Whether through multi-figured compositional complexity and suggestive narrative, or with the straight-forward lone human form, there is often autobiographical narrative at play. Favorite models, friends, and the artist himself all play a role in the human story of his paintings.
Williams’ work has been the subject of a number of solo exhibitions, including shows in New York City, Berlin, Germany, Santa Fe, NM, San Francisco, CA, Sundance, UT, The Duke Museum of Art, Durham, NC, and in Los Angeles, CA. His painting, Trace Double-Portrait, was exhibited at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC as part of The Outwin Boochever 2006 Portrait Exhibition. His work is collected both in the US and abroad, and is included in the collections of Robin Williams, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Darren Aronofsky, Alex O’Loughlin, and Meg White.
A graduate of Pratt Institute in New York, Williams, a consummate draftsman and painter, has realized his work through various other artistic channels as well; that of the illustrated word and the graphic novel (which includes The Fountain with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky), printmaking, photography, design and film. Comprehensive selections of his work have been published in a number of books including Kent Williams, Amalgam: Paintings & Drawings, 1992-2007 and most recently, Kent Williams: Eklektikos. Williams is the recipient of a number of awards for his work including The Yellow Kid; Lucca, Italy’s prestigious comics award. In 2001 he was invited to be a fellow at the Sundance Filmmakers Lab in Sundance, UT.
Williams returned as a visiting instructor to The Pratt Institute, and has since gone on to teach at The California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA; East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, and The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Valencia, CA. He currently teaches contemporary figurative painting and drawing at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, and is Mentor Faculty at Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, CA as part of the MFA program.
Williams lives in Los Angeles.. He has two sons, Kerig Sun and Ian Kai.
Bibliographie
En France :
Emmanuel Proust Éditions
Tell me, Dark (2000)
Blood T01 et T02 (2003)
The Fountain – scénario Darren Aronofsky / dessin Kent Williams (2006)
Aux Etats Unis :
Comics USA
Wolverine-Meltdown (1989/90)
Wolverine-Killing (1993)
…
Art Books
Eklektikos, hardcover, text by Peter Frank and Alex Ross, ASFA, Pacific Grove, CA (2011)
Amalgam: Paintings and Drawings, 1992 – 2007, hardcover, text by Edward Lucie-Smith and Julia Morton, ASFA, Pacific Grove, CA (2007)
Sparrow: Kent Williams, no. 3, hardcover, IDW Publishing, San Diego, CA (2007)
Koan: Paintings by Jon J Muth and Kent Williams, hardcover, introduction by Jose Villarrubia, ASFA, Pacific Grove, CA (2001)
Kent Williams: Drawings and Monotypes, hardcover/softcover, introduction by John Ney Rieber, Tundra Publishing, Northampton, MA (1991)
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