Marie Williams is a contemporary international artist whose work is deeply rooted in personal experience, healing, and a desire to inspire social change. Raised in Colorado, her artistic journey has been profoundly shaped by her observations of the people around her, particularly those who have experienced pain. Through her art, Williams seeks to foster healing and bring people together to address the challenges that divide us.
From an early age, Williams felt a deep connection to creativity. She recalls drawing the same toy sheep repeatedly as a child, striving to improve with each attempt. This childhood habit ignited her lifelong passion for art, fueling her drive for constant growth and refinement in her craft. Today, Williams works primarily in sculpture and photography, embracing analog techniques and tactile materials that connect her with the physical world. She uses metal, wood, textiles, ceramics, and found objects in her sculptures, while her photographic work explores traditional processes such as cyanotypes, gum prints, black-and-white photography, lumen prints, and old Polaroid technology. These analog techniques ground her work in a tactile, sensory experience, allowing her to engage with the medium in a way that reflects her love for texture and physical touch.
One of Williams most cherished pieces is The Perfect Mess, a work that holds profound personal meaning. She describes it as embodying raw and authentic energy, both in its creation and its presence. The cathartic process of making it invites viewers to bring their own interpretations, fostering a personal dialogue between the art and its audience. This piece is a reflection of Williams’ broader artistic philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of vulnerability and the potential for art to serve as a conduit for healing.
Williams’ work is influenced not only by her personal experiences but also by the pain she has witnessed in the world. Driven by a strong desire for healing and collective action, her art aims to highlight the power of empathy and the potential for people to come together in a shared space of healing and transformation. She believes in the possibility of using art to address societal issues, offering solutions through unity and understanding.
Her journey as an artist has not been without challenges. Early on, Williams grappled with the common rhetoric about the "starving artist" and the need to pursue a more traditional career. This created feelings of doubt and anxiety, leading her to briefly work as a bookkeeper, a job that offered financial stability but lacked fulfillment. However, with the support of those around her, Williams embraced her true calling as an artist and has never looked back.
In addition to her artistic work, Williams is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the Art and Medicine field. She is dedicated to using her art to bring healing to the hospital setting and is expanding her focus to include social sculptures—artworks that create spaces for collective healing. Through these endeavors, she hopes to inspire others to seek healing and to help one another do the same, demonstrating the profound impact that art can have in both personal and societal contexts.
Williams holds an MFA in sculpture from the University of Houston, a BFA in photography and sculpture from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a BA in Art History with a focus on museum practices. Her work has been exhibited in several notable shows, including The Taste of Art at The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Murmuration of Lights at PhotoNOLA in New Orleans, and the Art Walk in Houston, Texas. She has also contributed as a Chaplin Contributor in the exhibition Tove & Melton & Lisa & Garth & Charles &c. at the Jonathan Hopson Gallery in Houston, Texas. Her art has received recognition through commissions from the US Government, with pieces located in Okinawa, Japan.
Alongside her artistic practice, Williams resides on a small farm in Colorado with her husband, where she continues to create and teach, ever committed to her mission of healing through art.
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Publication:
Art Valet: https://artvalet.com/annex-energy-at-site-gallery-houston/
Blaffer Art Museum: “MFA candidate Marie Williams’ work utilizes materials to express concepts relating to interpersonal relationships. Material acknowledges that interactions based on outward physical features are socially constructed, yet these interactions inform how one exists in the world, expressing Williams’ interest in the formation of relationships and the body.”