Scott Williams (artist)
Encyclopedia
Scott Williams is an American artist best known for his work with stencil
s.
Williams was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Santa Barbara. He began painting with watercolor in high school, and studied art and anthropology at Santa Barbara City College, Cabrillo College, and Sonoma State University. He moved to San Francisco in 1979 and began to work in color xerox. He lived at the Goodman Building, a long term artist community in San Francisco, and was present for its closing and evictions in 1983. In 1983, Williams moved to Los Angeles and collaborated with Didier Cremieux on a large painting called "History of the World" which was featured in Immigre magazine and purchased by Modernism Gallery/Martin Muller of San Francisco. In 1984, he moved to Santa Barbara, continued painting and helped to run Talk Gallery in Santa Barbara. By 1986, Williams was back in San Francisco, settling in the Mission District.
In the early 1980s, Williams began to cut and paint with stencils. Some of the galleries he exhibited work were Show & Tell Gallery, The Altarpiece at the Offensive, Southern Exposure
, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
, Bibliomancy and the Adobe Bookstore. He painted mural
s at various San Francisco venues, both indoors and out: Armadillo's on Fillmore Street, Amoeba Records, Clarion Alley
, Leather Tongue video, The Chamelleon bar, DNA Lounge, Burger Joint, Pedal Revolution, The Lab
. In the early nineties, a series of cars and vans painted by Williams could be seen on the streets in San Francisco.
He also developed a handmade comic series in the 1980s with the characters Robot Dog, Cyber Kitty, and Mean Mouse, among others.
During the early 1990s, Wiliams collaborated with the artist Rigo
on a series of large murals for the DNA Lounge, including the Philip K. Dick Tribute mural. In 1991, Williams was the subject of a documentary called "Spraypaint" by Nick Gorski. In 1995, he received the Adeline Kent award and had a retrospective exhibit at the Walter and McBean Galleries
of the San Francisco Art Institute
.
Scott Williams painted wall murals, car murals
, furniture, private rooms, jewelry and any surface available for many years. Health problems brought him away from spraypaint in the late 1990s, when he began using an airbrush and focused on paintings and books.
Collaborative hand painted books include "Gemstone Fever" (2003), "Horses West" (2005) "Amerika Cup" (2006) with Fred Rinne, "Collect Call from the Spirit World" (2006) and "Watch Your Step" (2007) with Fred Rinne
and Dana Smith.
Stencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
s.
Williams was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Santa Barbara. He began painting with watercolor in high school, and studied art and anthropology at Santa Barbara City College, Cabrillo College, and Sonoma State University. He moved to San Francisco in 1979 and began to work in color xerox. He lived at the Goodman Building, a long term artist community in San Francisco, and was present for its closing and evictions in 1983. In 1983, Williams moved to Los Angeles and collaborated with Didier Cremieux on a large painting called "History of the World" which was featured in Immigre magazine and purchased by Modernism Gallery/Martin Muller of San Francisco. In 1984, he moved to Santa Barbara, continued painting and helped to run Talk Gallery in Santa Barbara. By 1986, Williams was back in San Francisco, settling in the Mission District.
In the early 1980s, Williams began to cut and paint with stencils. Some of the galleries he exhibited work were Show & Tell Gallery, The Altarpiece at the Offensive, Southern Exposure
Southern Exposure (art space)
-About:Southern Exposure is a not-for-profit arts organization and alternative art space founded in 1974 in the Mission District of San Francisco, California....
, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a multi-disiplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, national, and international artists and the Bay Area's diverse...
, Bibliomancy and the Adobe Bookstore. He painted mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s at various San Francisco venues, both indoors and out: Armadillo's on Fillmore Street, Amoeba Records, Clarion Alley
Clarion Alley
Clarion Alley is a small street in San Francisco between Mission and Valencia Streets and 17th and 18th Streets. The alley lies at what was once the center of a lagoon that covered the central Mission District area, although some historians dispute the existence of the fresh water lagoon...
, Leather Tongue video, The Chamelleon bar, DNA Lounge, Burger Joint, Pedal Revolution, The Lab
The LAB
The LAB, located in San Francisco's historic Redstone Building, is a not-for-profit arts organization and performance space founded in 1984.The Lab "supports interdisciplinary artists in the development and exhibition of new visual, media, literary, and performing art, with a focus on emerging and...
. In the early nineties, a series of cars and vans painted by Williams could be seen on the streets in San Francisco.
He also developed a handmade comic series in the 1980s with the characters Robot Dog, Cyber Kitty, and Mean Mouse, among others.
During the early 1990s, Wiliams collaborated with the artist Rigo
Rigo 23
Rigo 23 , born Ricardo Gouveia, is a Portuguese muralist, painter, and political artist residing in San Francisco, California...
on a series of large murals for the DNA Lounge, including the Philip K. Dick Tribute mural. In 1991, Williams was the subject of a documentary called "Spraypaint" by Nick Gorski. In 1995, he received the Adeline Kent award and had a retrospective exhibit at the Walter and McBean Galleries
Walter and McBean Galleries
The Walter and McBean Galleries present a program of exhibitions curated by Hou Hanru highlighting innovative work by emerging artists and experimental work by more established artists from throughout the United States and abroad...
of the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
.
Scott Williams painted wall murals, car murals
Art car
An art car is a vehicle that has had its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art cars are often driven and owned by their creators, who are sometimes referred to as "Cartists"....
, furniture, private rooms, jewelry and any surface available for many years. Health problems brought him away from spraypaint in the late 1990s, when he began using an airbrush and focused on paintings and books.
Collaborative hand painted books include "Gemstone Fever" (2003), "Horses West" (2005) "Amerika Cup" (2006) with Fred Rinne, "Collect Call from the Spirit World" (2006) and "Watch Your Step" (2007) with Fred Rinne
Fred Rinne
Fred Rinne is an American visual and performance artist. His cross disciplinary approach, outsider aesthetic and overriding cultural critique defines his work....
and Dana Smith.