The impasto application of paint and deceptive modulation of surfaces in Mervyn Williams’ abstract paintings consider the nature of perception, drawing attention to his work as physical objects to be visually savoured.
Read More“My work is concerned with perception, the nature and interpretation of reality. I use subtle modulations of light and shade to create surfaces reminiscent of photography, spatially ambiguous, reflecting some other reality. I seek to re-examine the relationships between what we see and what we know, between empirical fact and deduction, reality and illusion.” *
Williams attended the University of Auckland, School of Fine Arts (1957-58), and later assisted Gordon Walters in his printmaking in the 1960s.
His work is represented in the permanent collection of the Auckland Art Gallery amongst other New Zealand and public and private collections around the world.
* Mervyn Williams quoted in Contemporary Painting in New Zealand, Michael Dunn, Craftsman House, 1996.
1. Mervyn Williams quoted in Michael Dunn, “Contemporary Painting in New Zealand,” Craftsman House, Australia, 1996
1. Mervyn Williams quoted in Michael Dunn, “Contemporary Painting in New Zealand,” Craftsman House, Australia, 1996
Mervyn Williams quoted in Michael Dunn, “Contemporary Painting in New Zealand,” Craftsman House, Australia, 1996
Mervyn Williams quoted in Contemporary Painting in New Zealand, Michael Dunn, Craftsman House, Australia, 1996
