fine arts
PHILEMONA WILLIAMSON
“ The way I grew up was non-traditional , and it allowed me to not put people in boxes ,” says Philemona Williamson , who moved to Montclair with her husbandand two young children in 1997 . She is referring to her childhood and adolescence living in the well-appointed apartment on Sutton Place in Manhattan where her father worked as a chauffeur and cook , and her mother was a housekeeper and nanny . Williamson grew up confident and precocious , and determined to be an artist .
She attended Bennington College in Vermont on a scholarship , and received a master of arts degree from New York University . Her large narrative oil paintings , which recall vivid feelings from her youth and often feature folk-art dolls and girls with anxious expressions , have won her numerous prestigious exhibitions , beginning with a solo show at the Queens Museum in 1988 .
Since then , her paintings have been shownregularly at the June Kelly Gallery in New York , where her work will be featured again in December ; a solo exhibit , “ Entangled in Truth ,” will be on view at the Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco until Oct . 30 . Other forums include the Montclair Art Museum , which held a 2017 retrospective called “ Philemona Williamson : Metaphorical Narratives ,” and Drumthwacket , the governor ’ s mansion in Princeton , which displayed her works in 2019 as part of aseries highlighting New Jersey artists .
‘ AH , BUT THERE ’ S MORE TO THAT STORY ’
Williamson works entirely with oil paints , most often on canvases that are 48 by 60 inches , and occasionally on onesaslarge as 64 by 95 inches . “ The process of painting is so exciting ,” she says . “ What will happen ? What are the possibilities ? Is it telling the story I have to tell ?” Williamson says she grew up around storytellers , and that the fantastical , exaggerated accounts of “ This person said this ” were like miniature dramas . “ I like to have figures telling a narrative that ’ s not linear or clear-cut , that brings up more questions than they answer ,” she says . A daughter of the Sutton Place homeowners she grew up with used to say , “ Ah , but there ’ s more to that story ,” she says . “ That kind of feeling of investigation and mystery is something Ilike in my work ,” she says .
WHERE NONCONFORMITY IS THE NORM
When Williamson and her family relocated to Montclair , she knew it had its own art museum , offered easy access to New York City and that the community supported artists . The town had a reputation for valuing diversity , too .“ My husband and I were attracted to Montclair because we didn ’ t feel defined by being an interracial couple with biracial children ,” she says . “ Gender and race are fluid in my figures . People are black and white , rich and poor , but those aren ’ t the issues that define them .”
It was easy to befriend other artists — they were everywhere . “ I met Alyce Gottesman on the soccer field with oursons . She said she was a painter , and I said ‘ Me , too !’” Gottesman helped Williamson find a studio in the Parkway building along the Garden State Parkway in Bloomfield . “ It was really bare bones , but it had big spaces with giant windows and aview of Manhattan ,” she says . When that building was being converted to condos , she moved over to Manufacturers Village Art Studios in East Orange , which had been developed by her Montclair friend and colleague Tom Nussbaum (“ Listen ,” his sculpture of a giant head , is part of MAM ’ s permanent collection ). Manufacturers Village is holding an Open Studios event for the public Oct . 16 and 17 .
Summing up the way Montclair is a great base for artists , Williamson returns to her theme of avoiding labels . She recalls a conversation she had with a friend who ’ d had a party where everyone “ was different and diverse ,” she says .“ Andmy friend ’ s partnersaid , ‘ You don ’ t have to worry about fitting in here because there is no fitting in . There is no box .” ■
COURTESY OF MARC PHOTO ROSENBERG CREDIT
30 FALL 2021 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE