Franklin Williams

Since the 1960’s, Franklin Williams (b. 1940, Ogden, UT, lives and works in Petaluma, CA) has developed an idiosyncratic approach to art-making, creating intricately constructed sculptures, paintings, and works on paper using a range of techniques and processes, including sewing directly into his supports. Influenced by household craft traditions and historical styles of ornament, Williams’s deeply personal work addresses themes of sexuality and desire, fantasy and reality, life and death. Williams taught for over fifty years, holding long-term positions at both the San Francisco Art Institute and the California College of Arts. He was included in the legendary Funk exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum in 1967 and his work is held in many permanent collections, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Oakland Art Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Jose Museum of Art, and the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

Year

1999

Location

Petaluma, CA USA