<h2>Aubrey Williams: Cosmological Abstractions, 1973–85<br>23 May 2023 – 12 May 2024 at
Tate Britain, London</h2><strong>Aubrey Williams</strong>, <em>Symphony No. 5, Opus 47</em>, 1981. Oil on canvas, 183 x 274.5 cm.<strong>Aubrey Williams</strong>, <em>Shostakovich Symphony No. 14, Opus 135</em>, 1981. Oil on canvas, 154 x 274 cm.<strong>Aubrey Williams</strong>, <em>Hymn to the Sun IV</em>, 1984. Oil on canvas, 120 x 178 cm. (Olmec Maya series)</em>

AUBREY WILLIAMS

Aubrey Williams.
Photo: © Val Wilmer, 1981.
Aubrey Williams, Carib Ritual IV, 19673.
Acrylic on canvas, 103 x 120 cm.


Aubrey Williams travelled to London from Guyana in 1952 touring Britain and Europe extensively to examine works of modernist painters admired since he was a child. Throughout the 1950s and '60s Williams developed his art practice, exhibiting in the UK and abroad. He spent time in Italy, France and Germany, and enrolled at St Martin’s School of Art in London. The 1956 and 1959 Tate American Abstract Expressionism exhibitions – particularly works of Pollock, Rothko and Gorky – greatly inspired Williams. During the 1970s and ‘80s Williams’ painted in Jamaica and Florida, able to take advantage of light and environment as they impacted his resulting work.

The early 1980s witnessed Williams’ tour de force: two series both of large-scale paintings: one abstract series expressing his passionate encounter with the music of Dimitri Shostakovich and the other, entitled Olmec-Maya (1981-1984), drawing on his deep knowledge of historic Mesoamerican cultures. October Gallery has represented Williams from its first solo show of his work in 1984. Williams has been exhibited in a wide range of contexts and institutions, including Rasheed Araeen’s The Other Story (1989), the Whitechapel Art Gallery’s major retrospective, and a room display at Tate Britain. In 2010, October Gallery linked with the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool to produce two simultaneous Aubrey Williams exhibitions. In 2014, a symposium on his work was held at Cambridge University with another at October Gallery in 2015, highlighting the fact that his works still resist classification while attracting ever more attention.

Williams' recent and upcoming exhibitions include: The Gift of Art (2018) at the Perez Museum; Get Up, Stand Up Now (2019) at Somerset House; Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 50s – Now (2021) at Tate Britain; Post-War Modern New Art in Britain 1945–1965 (2022) at the Barbican; Fragments of Epic Memory (2021) at the Art Gallery of Ontario and AfroScots: Revisiting the Work of Black Artists in Scotland (2022) at Glasgow Museums.

With Williams paintings and archives accessible in public collections including Tate Britain, London; Arts Council England; Natural History Museum, London; and Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; the increasing recognition of his unique place in British art history continues to be explored.

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View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.


 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS



 

SELECTED WORKS





 

MEDIA





 

AUBREY WILLIAMS

Born in 1926, Georgetown, Guyana. Died in 1990, London, UK.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023   Aubrey Williams: Future Conscious, October Gallery, London, UK
2023-24   Aubrey Williams: Cosmological Abstraction 1973-85, Tate Britain (Room 24), London, UK
2022    Aubrey Williams: Sunphase - Works on Paper, October Gallery, London, UK
2018    Aubrey Williams, October Gallery, London, UK
2015  Realm of the Sun, October Gallery, London, UK
2014-18   Faculty of English Library, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK
2013   Aubrey Williams: Shostakovich Symphonies and Quartets, Hales Gallery, London, UK
2010   Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK; simultaneous exhibition with Aubrey Williams: Now and Coming Time, October Gallery, London, UK
2008   Rotunda Space, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
2007   Goodison Room, Tate Britain, London, UK
2006   Aubrey Williams: Major Works, October Gallery, London, UK
2004   Aubrey Williams: Dreams and Visions, October Gallery, London, UK
1998   Aubrey Williams, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK
1996-97   Harlem & Caribbean Cultural Center, New York, USA
1996   Castellani House, Georgetown, Guyana
1995-96   Aubrey Williams: Cosmos Series, October Gallery, London,
1992   Endangered Birds, Henry Sotheran Ltd (fine books & prints), London, UK
1990   Aubrey Williams Celebration, Commonwealth Institute, London, UK
A Tribute to Aubrey Williams, Guyana Museum, Georgetown, Guyana
A Tribute to Aubrey Williams, Contemporary Art Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
1989   De Graaf Fine Art, Chicago USA
Aubrey Williams: Selected Oils and Recent Acrylics, October Gallery, London, UK
1988   Contemporary Arts Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
Shibuya Tokyo Plaza, Tokyo, Japan
1987   Aubrey Williams: New Works on Paper, October Gallery, London, UK
1985   The Olmec-Maya & Now, Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London, UK
Goldsmith College Gallery, London, UK
Cosmos, Gallery Barrington, Kingston, Jamaica
Contemporary Arts Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
1984   Aubrey Williams, October Gallery, London, UK
Paintings on the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
1981   Commonwealth Institute, London, UK
1976   Gallery Barrington, Kingston, Jamaica
1975   Olympia International Art Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
1974   The Warehouse, Kingston, Jamaica
1973/74   Little Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
1973   Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London, UK
1972   Illinois Centre, Chicago, USA
Carifesta ’72, Critchlow Labour College, Georgetown, Guyana
1971   Camden Arts Centre, London, UK
1970   John Peartree Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
1969   Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, UK
1967   Van Mildert College, Durham University, Durham, UK
1965   Commonwealth Institute, London, UK
1964   Forum Galleries, Bristol, UK
1963   Grabowski Gallery, London, UK
Gallery 60, Colchester, UK
Ritchie Hendricks Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
1961   Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond, UK
Galleria Pater, Milan, Italy
1959   St Catherine’s College, Oxford, UK
1958/59/60   New Vision Centre Gallery, London, UK

Selected Group Exhibitions
2023   The Moth and The Thunderclap, Modern Art Gallery, London, UK
KADIST Collection Highlights: Abstract Reality, KADIST Art Foundation, Paris, France
2022   Radical Landscapes, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
AfroScots: Revisiting the Work of Black Artists in Scotland through New Collecting, Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, UK
Art Basel Miami Beach, Kabinett Sector, Miami, USA, with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Erna Rosenstein, Aubrey Williams. The Earth Will Open its Mouth, Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi, Warsaw, Poland
Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE, with October Gallery, London, UK
Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland, with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Post-war Modern: New Art In Britain 1945-1965, Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK
2021 - 2022   Life Between Islands: Caribbean–British Art, 1950s to Now, Tate Britain, London, UK
2021   Fragments of Epic Memory,  AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario), Ontario, Canada
2020   Atmospheres; Artists of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
Art Basel Miami Beach, with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, Florida, USA 
Art Basel OVR: 20C, with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Frieze London, online with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA 
2019   Dream No Small Dream: Celebrating 40 Years of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
    Get Up, Stand Up Now!, Somerset House, London, UK
2018-19  Speech: Acts: Refection-Imagination-Repetition, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
2017   Summertime, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA
EXPO Chicago, Chicago with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2016   No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action, 1960-1990, Guildhall Art Gallery, London, UK
The Armory Show, New York, USA with October Gallery, London, UK   
Aviary, Transition Gallery, London, UK
Seattle Art Fair, Seattle with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2015   Artist and Empire, Tate Britain, London, UK
2014   35 Years of the Transvangarde:Contemporary art from around the planet, October Gallery, London, UK
2012   Masters of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
Migrations:Journeys into British Art, Tate Britain, London, UK
Beyond the easel: Gallery One, New Vision Center, Signals, Indica at Tate Britain II,, Tate, London, UK
2009   Transvangarde: Leading Contemporary Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
2008   Winter Exhibition: Gallery Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
2005   Intelligence Now!, October Gallery, London
Back to Black: Art, Cinema and the Radical Imaginary, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK
1996/97   Transforming the Crown, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, USA
1992   Belgrave Gallery, London, UK
1989-90  The Other Story, Hayward Gallery, London, UK
1988   Summer Show: Gallery Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
1987   From the National Gallery, Guyana; Caracas, Venezuela, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Creation for Liberation, Brixton Village, London, UK
1986   Camden Arts Centre, London, UK
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester, UK
Autumn Equinox ’86: 19 Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
1985   GLC Brixton Recreation Centre, London, UK
Contemporary Arts Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
1982/84   Westbourne Gallery, London, UK
1977   Festac '77, Festival of the Arts, Lagos, Nigeria
Jamaica House, Kingston, Jamaica
1975/76/77   Gallery Barrington, Kingston, Jamaica
1975/76   Olympia International Arts Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
1971/73/74/77   Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London, UK
1970   Guyana Museum, Georgetown, Guyana
1968   London School of Economics, London, UK
City Art Gallery, Bristol UK
West Indian Students Centre, London UK
House of Commons, London, UK
1967/68   University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
1967   Expo ’67, Montreal, Canada
São Paulo Biennale (XI), São Paulo, Brazil
Brighton Festival of Arts, Brighton, UK
Theatre Royal, Stratford, UK
1966   The Arun Art Centre, Arundel, UK
1966-70   Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London, UK
1965   Arts Council, Karachi, Pakistan
Arts Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
Performing Multiculturalism: The Commonwealth Arts Festival, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
University of Glasgow & Commonwealth Arts Festival, Glasgow, UK
1964   Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
1962   National College of Art, Dublin, Ireland
1961/62/63/65   Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London, UK
1961   New Vision Centre Gallery, London, UK
Galerie Walcheturm, Zürich, Switzerland
1960   David Jones’ Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Hessenhuis, Antwerp, Belgium
Walkers Gallery, London, UK
Woodstock Gallery, London, UK
Portal Gallery, London, UK
Univision Royal Court Grill, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Grabowski Gallery, London, UK
1958   Galerie Colette Allendy, Paris, France
1954   Archer Gallery, London, UK
Collections
Aljira, A Centre for Contemporary Art, Newark, USA
Arts Council of Great Britain, UK
Bank of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica
Booker McConnell Plc, London, UK
Bradford Museums and Galleries, Bradford, UK
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, UK
British Broadcasting Corporation, London, UK
Castellani House, National Collection of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana
Church House, Kingston, Jamaica
Commonwealth Institute, London, UK
Contemporary Arts Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
Eliot and Rutherford Colleges, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK
Glasgow Museum of Modern Art, Glasgow, UK
Guyana House of Assembly, Georgetown, Guyana
Jamaica House, Kingston, Jamaica
KADIST Art Foundation, Paris, France
Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, UK
National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica
Natural History Museum, London, UK
Marlborough House, London, UK
Milton Keynes Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Milton Keynes, UK
Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi, Warsaw, Poland
October Gallery, London, UK
Olympia International Art Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
Pérez Miami Museum, Miami, USA
Rice Marketing Board of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, UK
Scheryn Art Collection, Cape Town, South Africa
Southbank Centre, London, UK
St Catherine’s College, Oxford, UK
Tate Britain, London, UK
Tuesday Magazine (boardroom), Chicago, USA
University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art, Essex, UK
University of Hull, Hull, UK
University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
University of the West Indies, Mary Secole Hall, Kingston, Jamaica
University of York, York, UK
Van Mildert College, Durham University, Durham, UK
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
York City Art Gallery, York, UK
Honours
1986    The Cacique’s Crown of Honour, Guyana
1980   The Cross of Merit of St. Anthony of the Desert
1970    The Golden Arrow of Achievement, Guyana
Awards
1980   Acadamia Italia delle Arti e del Lavoro, (Gold Medal nominee as academic of Italy), Parma, Italy
1979   Real Aula Mallorquesa seu Esquela Miramar
1963    First Commonwealth Biennale of Abstract Art, Commonwealth Exhibition Prize for Painting, London, UK
Commissions
1980   Portrait – His Serene Excellency, Baron Bradford of Kani, London, UK
1978   Coral Reef – (private house), Wiltshire, UK
    University of Dalhousie, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
1976   Olympia International Art Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
    African Methodist Episcopal Church of Christ Our Redeemer, Kingston, Jamaica
    School of Hope, Kingston, Jamaica
    Guyana High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica
1970   Timehri, Timehri Airport, Georgetown, Guyana
1961    Heraldry at York – City of York Art Gallery
Films
2016   Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain’s Hidden Art History, presenter Brenda Emmanus; producer/director Alex Harding; a BBC Studios Film (documentary) for BBC Four, 52 mins.
1986   The Mark of the Hand, directed by Imruh Bakari.  Colour, 16mm, 52 mins, 25fps.  London: Arts Council/Kuumba Productions.
Accessible Archives
Tate Archives, London, UK
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/tga-200112-2/williams-writings

OCTOBER GALLERY ARTISTS