I was told that there was a new exhibition, “Divine Disconnect” in West Hollywood, California that I should experience. This gallery was hosting a one man show of the internationally renowned artist Todd Williamson (www.toddwilliamson.com). As I approached the address I did not find a gallery, but a contemporary chapel that welcomed the guests with large ‘stained glassed’ cathedral arched windows that reminded me of Matisse’s chapel (Saint Paul de Vence) in the Côte d’Azur of France.
As I entered I was immediately drawn to the back of the room. There is a large arch and in it hangs a round slowly revolving painting. The verso is all mirror. It gives a feeling of a sacristy which enshrines the ‘host’. Williamson modestly explains that the “artist merely reflects the world around him.” As the mirror turns, I became part of his art and this exhibition, which transformed me into another reality. The reflections in the glass, I found to be like Plato’s shadows at the rear of the cave. The space is conceptual, filled with theology and philosophy with political undertones. The ‘pews’ are bales of hay that are covered with Astroturf. On the Westside of LA, the identity seems to be a kingdom of label hounds. Stripped down, we are all as basic as the grain that provided our last meal.
The paintings on the wall are haunting and uplifting at the same time. Williamson uses gessoed straight edged lines as a part of preparation of his canvases. He then applies pigments and moves them on, in and through these lines. The dominant color was shades of blue because the artist felt that it is seems to always be associated with spirituality. The lines evoke a sense of THE WORD and bars of music. One canvas seems to have the presence of the Holy Ghost while another reminds one of an angel landing.
There is one painting with strings suspended from the surface is waiting for you to play your own ‘hymn’. One corner is a mixed media work that includes detached pages of the Bible. It includes passages about divorce, honesty, homosexuality, prostitution, divorce, the rich etc. This work is headlined with cut out letters, forming words like a ransom note: “We are a nation that says out of many we are one” — which is a quote from President Obama.
The final work that first invited and then shocked me is a sculpture holding votive candles. When all the rest have burned out there is one that has an eternal flame, however it is the only candle’s glass cradle that is broken. On view at 8130 Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood, for more information and appointments to meet the artist, call Todd at 323.788.0782.
By Tony Clark
Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
