‘We Did It Our Way’

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A retrospective exhibition of the work of Guy and Judith Williams, a Red Wing couple, is at the Anderson Center at Tower View.

Titled “We Did It Our Way … Together?” the show includes his paintings and her pottery.

“My painting emerges from my survival need to paint,” Guy Williams said.

“Music has always been a driving motivational force for my brilliantly colored paintings. I thrive on laying out bright swatches of color, coaxing them to play symphonic notes on the canvas like a bass drum at the climax of a Richard Wagner piece.”

Born in Sauk Centre, Minn., he was educated at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has held teaching positions at the School of Associated Arts, Dakota Fine Arts Society and the White Bear Adult Education Program.

Williams’ “lush, dramatic acrylics and lithographs have been part of the regional landscape for more than four decades,” Anderson Center officials said. His work is in permanent and private collections in Europe, Canada and the United States. He has had numerous solo exhibitions and has been part of many group shows.

“My journey and love affair with clay has grown from the quiet and stillness of the creative process,” Judith Williams said.

“This elemental mixture of stone, water, and organic slime is the offspring of the earth itself, and, as I ground myself in the elements of nature, I allow the clay to breathe itself into form within my hands. After each firing, I uncover from the ashes a gift from the fire spirits.

Born in International Falls, she was educated at Bemidji State University, the College of St. Catherine and Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.

Williams began working with clay at 52, using the coil and slab methods of hand-building. “Her work exemplifies the virtues of moderation, and harbors a deep, almost Zen-like grace,” according to the press release. Her work is described as “Spare, economical and classically restrained.”

It is in many private collections and has been shown throughout the Twin Cities and the local area.

The exhibition will remain on display until March 16 at the Anderson Center, where it can be seen without charge.

Tags: williams, guy, and, judith, pottery, paintings, arts