The Death Of Abstraction: Artist Dale Williams’ ‘Fear Not To Appear’ At Gowanus Loft

“I appreciate the willingness to fall apart.”

Artist Dale Williams is showing me a selection of his artwork during a visit to his studio. Williams is surrounded by a prodigious oeuvre of paintings in his workspace of 20 years, located in the Gowanus Arts Building (295 Douglass Street near 3rd Avenue).

Dale Williams’ “willingness to fall apart” speaks to his aesthetic (and re-development of aesthetic) that has been a primary trope throughout his career. And that redevelopment is currently on display in his exhibit called Fear Not to Appear (Works, 1980-1997) at the Gowanus Loft (61 9th Street) through Saturday, May 28.

The selection of Williams’ work is both intriguing and unusual. When we asked him about the 1980-1997 timeframe, he spoke about Vanderbilt Republic Creative Director George Del Barrio’s enthusiasm for the selection. “I wondered a bit about the choice myself,” says Williams. “But George said to me, ‘the work isn’t old, it’s early’.”

“Dale is a humble, dedicated artist who is clear about his process,” says Del Barrio, while we toured the current exhibit.

Understanding Williams’ career — and artistic growth — is an opportunity to understand what was happening in the art world in New York during the 1970s and 1980s.

“At the time, the work that was being shown in galleries was based in abstraction,” says Williams. “But I was moving away from that — and departing from what was showing in the galleries was not a popular choice.”

Del Barrio readily agrees. “Dale was taking a hard turn to early figurative representation at this timeframe. Characters kept appearing and he was trying to suppress them. This exhibit is a revelation about what he once tried to suppress.”

And the results are striking. In his work titled “Private Property” (1988), Williams goes as far as painting his tombstone with his birthdate (December 7, 1955) and birthplace (Baltimore). And yet when viewing the painting, what becomes most evident is not the death of an artist, but a rebirth.

The struggle Williams goes through — and it’s indeed a brave one — yields a blend of grace and violence.  And while any artist going against the grain of that which is popular takes guts, you sense that Williams is daring himself to go further.

There are hints of George Grosz and Max Beckmann in Williams’ work — but the feeling is on a grander scale. “I have a hard time painting an edge on a figure,” he remarks.

It’s not surprising then, that Williams works big. “I wanted to do really large, complex figurative paintings,” he says.

As for Williams’ influences, he spoke about one painting that has resonated with him ever since he saw it. “I was traveling with my wife and daughter in Naples whilst she was studying in Pavia, and saw Flagellation of Christ. It just blew me away,” he recalls. “There was a personal component in the work that was so immediate to me emotionally.”

As far as more modern artists, he cites Philip Guston as “a spiritual mentor. I remember when Guston died in 1980. Between that and Reagan becoming President, it was a total disaster.”

Williams also makes use of text in his work during this timeframe. “I like the way writing and painting work together.” At times, it’s hard to determine whether text has been applied on top of his paintings or whether he has painted over text. However, the work isn’t murky — it amounts to a puzzle of sorts.

Of course, there’s much more of a story to tell about Williams’ work after 1997. I’m left with the image of his studio, where paintings are rolled up and resting against the walls. “I haven’t opened some of those in a long time,” says Williams, as he gestures to one corner of his studio.

Del Barrio has curated the exhibit with his usual care and elegance we saw in March and April during Carlton Scott Sturgill’s ‘Garden Of Delights’.

Dale Williams’ work will move to the Snug Harbor Culture Center in Staten Island during the summer. Del Barrio will be bringing Sturgill’s work and a selection of other artists featured by his company The Vanderbilt Republic.

“Finding Dale was a cornerstone moment for us,” says Del Barrio.

The Event Rundown: Dale Williams’ Fear Not to Appear (Works, 1980-1997)
When: Through Saturday, May 28. By appointment only.
Where: Gowanus Loft, 61 9th Street #C8 (between 2nd Avenue and the Gowanus Canal.
How much: Free — contact colby@vanderbiltrepublic.com for an appointment.