Aaron Williams Primitive Man

About

M E N proudly presents Primitive Man, a solo exhibition of new work by Aaron Williams. Presented at 13 Monroe Street, New York, NY and on view from March 31st through April 29th, 2018, this exhibition marks the artist’s first solo presentation with M E N.

Primitive Man offers a concise selection of William’s most current investigations, wherein long-held interests including modernist architectural ideology, construction and fabrication science, pop culture, semiotics, and the impact of artistic endeavors on the larger populous, to name only a few, are explored in a pared down format of two paintings on opposite walls, facing each other.  

Williams' current body of work, though still containing the DNA of previous interests has become increasingly personal, concerned with the parameters of the artists' own gesture as well as time spent within the architecture of his workspace, which houses both his studio and wood shop.  From the laborer’s trowel to the artist's brush, the degree to which aspiration is mediated and informed by both choice of tool and breadth of human extension, are considerations that are foregrounded in William’s most recent undertakings. Marking a return to the discipline of painting, these new works employ architectural schematics, repetitive brushstroke and silkscreen, among other devices to get at the core nature of the expressive action and end result. Here labor, intuitive mark, animus, and the influence of arbitrary demarcations within and upon material environments weigh on, augment and contribute to the generative drive and it’s attendant aesthetic yield.

Aaron Williams was born and raised in Rhode Island.  He received his B.F.A. degree from the Maine College of Art and received his M.F.A. degree from The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.  Solo exhibitions include Guest Spot Gallery, Baltimore, MD, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY, LaMontagne Gallery, Boston, MA and Mulherin + Pollard, New York, NY, among others.  Williams has exhibited at various venues throughout the U.S. including, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME, Denny Gallery, New York, NY, PROTO Gallery, Hoboken, NJ, Garis & Hahn, New York, NY, Lesley Heller Gallery, New York, NY, Howard House, Seattle, WA, The Visual Arts Center, Summit, NJ among many others. The artist and his work have been covered by numerous publications including Brooklyn Magazine, The New York Times, Art F City, The Boston Globe, The Huffington Post, Hyperallergic, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Art Info, The Portland Press Herald, and many others.  Aaron Williams lives and works in Queens, NY.

Aaron Williams: Primitive Man is on view at M E N (13 Monroe Street, New York, NY 10002) from March 31st   – April 29th 2018 weekends noon-6pm and by appointment. For further information please contact the gallery at press@13monroe.men or at +1.917.719.1447. All images are subject to copyright. (image: As Yet Untitled, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 12 inches.)