Christopher Williams
Christopher Williams
Christopher Williams is a Canadian painter and printmaker based in Toronto. His work is deeply interconnected with his observations of the environment and its ongoing changes.
Having grown up in Colchester, Ontario, a resort town on the shore of Lake Erie, Williams spent a lot of time outdoors as a child and was deeply influenced by the impacts of pollution on the lake and his surrounding environment. He carried this awareness of his environment through his life as he moved to Windsor to complete his BFA at the University of Windsor and to deKalb, Illinois, to complete his MFA at Northern Illinois University.
In his early career, Williams was focused on printmaking and produced large-scale prints depicting pigs and cows on conveyor belts to comment on factory farming and the commodification of animal life. After the death of his father, Williams re-evaluated the focus of his work, shifting from printmaking to painting. He went on to create abstract and punk-influenced painting series’ that reflected his observations of environmental change and the complex emotions triggered by the impending end of the world.
Currently, his subjects are rooted in news media and photography. After reflecting on an image, Williams begins by creating a charcoal sketch and layers of acrylic paint to create a rough underpainting. He then adds and subtracts elements from this initial image to create the final work.
Williams’ work has been exhibited throughout Ontario and United States, and it has been collected by the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and the Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford, among others.