Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary J. Williams.
Zachary, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I’m originally from West Sacramento, CA and I’ve always been a visual artist and learned early on that I needed to find a way to pay the bills. So I’ve worked a lot of different jobs: lifeguarding, UPS, a chocolate factory; I even danced around traffic in a bagel costume. Back in the glory days, I paid for college by rollerblading through San Francisco giving away free Red Bull. Sometimes I even drove the funny car with the can on top.
After graduating with my BA in Art, I moved back to Sacramento where I worked at an art gallery and also managed an artist studio. There I met my wife, and after working in Sacramento for a couple of years, we moved to Chicago so she could pursue her Ph.D. in Neuroscience. In Chicago, I had the opportunity to produce art full-time but still needed to work the occasional odd job, so I got into gum tasting for Wrigley. After realizing that wasn’t exactly bringing home a steady paycheck, we became dorm parents for over 50 undergraduates, curtailing the debauchery in exchange for free room and board. Between the apple picking, “Bachelorette” watch parties and epic water balloon fights, I produced a large body of work that dealt with a decidedly more serious subject matter. About a year ago we moved to Houston, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
The majority of my work thus far has been representational, exploring the many absurdities of our political and social lives. My recent work has specifically focused on the impact of gun violence on children. Iconic graphics from my own childhood and from contemporary pop culture are set in sharp contrast across portraits of children in seemingly innocuous situations. These paintings are youthful protests, emotionally charged and designed to address and confront the viewer, meant to highlight the collective responsibility that we, as the unseen adult presence, have in raising and protecting our children.
My primary motivation for painting has always been to connect with my viewer, and I have spent my life working to improve myself as a painter, both technically and professionally, toward this goal. Painting began as a mode of expression for me; over time, cultural impressions and my own curiosity into different aspects of human experience influenced my creative inquiry. Along these lines, I tend toward creating works inflected with narrative, social critique. I am currently developing a new series of paintings that will fuse my figurative and experimental styles, in which I explore the relationship and tension between the individual and society. I look forward to continuing to evolve my artistic practice and subject matter as I re-establish myself in Houston, TX.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
Success is loving what you do.
Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I currently have a studio at the Sabine Street Studios at 1907 Sabine Street. I open it up to the public every 2nd Saturday from 12-5pm.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1907 Sabine Street, Studio #147
Houston, TX 77007 - Website: www.zacharyjwilliams.com
- Email: zachary@zacharyjwilliams.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/zacharyj.williams
- Facebook: facebook.com/ZacharyJ.Williams.Artist
Image Credit:
Zachary J. Williams
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