Terry Williams – 'Untitled', 2023

Williams’ practice reflects a diverse exploration of materials and techniques. Best known for his soft sculpture; a technique popularised in the 1960s by artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Yayoi Kusama. Williams’ sculptural work is defined by his deft and obsessive interpretation of figures, animals and objects, both real and imagined. The tactile, pillow-like works constructed with found materials feature exaggerated, conspicuous stitching and are intensely physical and bulging in form. Williams does not consciously work within common traditions of art but instead adopts an immersive and idiosyncratic process, ruminating on and storing ideas until they manifest into complex and multi-faceted creations.

—

Terry Williams (b. 1952, Melbourne) has worked at the Arts Project Australia studio since 1989. Exhibition highlights include a solo show curated by Ricky Swallow at White Columns, New York (2015); and group exhibitions Everyday imagining: new perspectives on Outsider art, Ian Potter Museum of Art (2014); The Soft Knife, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (2014), Renegades: Outsider Art, National touring exhibition (2013 - 2014); and The Museum of Everything, Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Tasmania. A finalist in the Victorian Craft Award (2015 & 2017), his work is held in private collections nationally and internationally.

—

Everyone’s heard of a dragon  

Curated by James Lemon and Bobby Corica

11 November  23 – 27 January 24 

Read about the exhibition

Material: fabric

Dimensions: approx.