Curator: Pietro Franesi
Artist: Kelly D. Williams
Project Statement
Visual precision, verbal abstraction. Indie-visible poetics and self-depreciating works of paint, photography, drawing, wood, and collage. Empathy for the readymade. Was that thing over there, sitting in the corner this whole time? Making a commentary on the current status of virtual (online) artists and their fleeting presence combined with hipster’s erratic interest in the art of expression, I aim to incite concern in those who have previously invested so much interest into the materialist laurels that our pop social classes rely on. Set fire to it all. Artists are born every day, and yet I’ve never seen one die. As individuals existing in the likeness of Deity, we certainly pay too much attention to ourselves with the help of a pre-approved atheistic credit card. I opened this idea and can’t seem to stop laughing at how seriously artists take themselves. New York is where it all happens, they say. This suggests that a whole slew of idiots are out there in Middle America, busily drawing and painting in dusty towns blotched with trees and football fields. Pass the proverbial peace pipe. Oh, you’re a liberal and you bought a poster that says hope on it? How unoriginal. We’ve got a hick sense of rumour and I’m not dropping my baseball bat until someone here becomes an artist and not just a username.
Project Rhetoric: Artistic Genocide (Enquires Left Unreciprocated)
What denotes an art movement?
When does an art movement die? Can it be killed?
Can an artist make a conscious effort to participate or lead a movement, or is it only in retrospect that his contributions are noted?
Does an artist have to succumb to a homogenized and marketable identity that would dictate what his art should accomplish and what his art should look like?
How significant is geographical location in the formulation and presentation of art?
Is the internet an urban medium and will it ever malfunction?
Are important artists only bred in metropolan culture hotspots, or is there a better fountainhead of hungry and creative individuals who may emerge triumphant?
Can I be healthier and live longer than Basquiat or is this the dominant ingredient in my artistic malfunction?
Biography: Kelly D. Williams is an American artist, designer, writer, and photographer 
typically known for his writ-based paintings, repeated drawings of beleaguered faces, and geometric studies fractured by color and collage. Taking an unapologetic style from his background in skateboarding and unrefined music, he manages to incite the viewer by often using otherwise incompatible mediums. Kelly currently works as an aesthetic consultant for several relevant organizations and continues to show work in galleries around the world.
Exhibit Summary
Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art, “Tiny Pieces”, Hollywood, CA (2007)
Halcyon Studio, “Hard Times 2”, Brooklyn, NY, (2004)
UNK Gallery, “Board Show”, Salt Lake City, UT, (2005)
UNK Gallery, “Compute This: Kelly D. Williams & Damion Silver”, Salt Lake City, UT, (2006)
MASS Art Gallery, 50 States, 50 Artists, Austin, TX, (2006)
From Here Gallery, Permanent Collection, Bristol, United Kingdom (2006)
The Barbur, “Inspire Collective Exhibition”, Jerusalem, Israel, (2007)
Killer Dana, “Solo Exhibit: The Art of Kelly D. Williams”, Lake Forest, CA, (2007)
I Got Wood.co.uk, “Global Exhibit”, United Kingdom (2007)
Saatchi Contemporary Art Gallery, “Saatchi Online”, London, United Kingdom (2007)
Thinkspace Gallery, “Gimme Shelter Global Group Show”, Los Angeles, CA (2007)
ABC No Rio, “Booked”, New York City, NY (2007)
David Van Alphen Gallery, “My Kinda Town”, Chicago, IL (2007)
The Luggage Store Gallery, Work Gifted, San Francisco, CA (2007)
Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art, “Group Show”, Hollywood, CA (2007)
DDR Projects, “Group Show in December”, Long Beach, CA (2007)
The Lab/Orange County Design Collective, “OC/DC”, Costa Mesa, CA (2007)
Delkographik Studio, “Donuts”, Paris France (2008)
DDR Projects, “Walls & Foundations: The Art of Kelly D. Williams”, Long Beach, CA (2008)
Rolf Contemporary, Solo Exhibit (2009)
DDR Projects, “That Was Now, This is Then: New Works by Kelly D. Williams”, CA (2009)
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