I had the chance to meet the artist Tess Williams about a week ago in her studio at the Bomb Factory Art Foundation in London. Freshly graduated from a MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, Tess is exploring through her work the physicality of painting, where painting ends and sculpture starts. When some will see an installation or a sculpture while looking at her work, Tess insists on the fact that they are paintings, a challenging medium she always had interest for.
What attracted me to her work was the very contemporary way she approaches the idea of painting, the manner she experiments different materials to give a strong physical presence to her work, and the way she is questioning the intrinsic value of painting while pushing the boundaries to create a new form of painting.
When I look at contemporary art, I want to see the gesture of the artist, I want to feel a physical connexion with the art, that is why I always admire artists who are curious enough to research and incorporate different materials into their work. Tess uses raw materials like canvas, linen, or cotton to work with, she sews, she folds, she stretches, and even blows up the paintings. She never uses already made fabric, she always paints them with oil, acrylic, oil sticks, pastel, ink, or bleach. Her paintings tell you stories, they are interesting to engage with as there is several reading levels due to the fact that she likes to work with transparency which gives her paintings even more depth.
Where does she find her inspiration? In life. Even though she admits that books or internet researches are essential, she gets inspired by what she sees and what she does. Connecting and engaging with her surroundings and with people, it is something we can really feel from her art. As she said it herself she is a “doer” , she learns from the action and from the process, that’s maybe why her work is so organic, sensitive, generous, beautifully imperfect and vibrant.
I really invite you to discover this young artist who is not afraid to think outside of the frame, and who have a wonderful instinct when it comes to experimenting materials.
Don’t forget to join the artist on Instagram (@tess_williams_artist) for daily updates.
ABONNÉ(E)
The Bubblist 
So interesting! Let us know when she has an exhibition in London! Love, Lucy
Will do! Keep an eye on her website also 😉
J’avais jamais envisagé la peinture sous cet angle. Belle découverte. on te voit quand sur Bruxelles ?
Avril! J’organise une expo en partenariat avec Marine Tanguy Art en off the Art Brussels. J’espère t’y voir. Plus d’infos coming soon 😉
Her work looks really good, a real work on texture and materiality. Thanks for the discovery.
My pleasure dear Maya! Her art is very much alive, you can feel the textures on pictures so imagine in the flesh 😉
Le grand bleu/sombre est magnifique, on dirait presque de la toile cirée. Quel travail intéressant. Tu as l’oeil Eva.
Merci Simon! C’est l’un de mes favoris également, elle travaille avec beaucoup de matériaux différents pour arriver à des textures incroyables. Heureuse que ça vous plaît.
I share with you the fact that I like to see the artist gesture in art, it helps to start a dialogue with an artwork. I really like what she does.
Coucou! Petite curiosité, comment trouves tu tous ces artistes et comment choisis tu ceux qui figureront sur le blog? Merci
Bonjour Coralie, comme le blog s’est fait un petit nom en presque trois ans, j’ai à chance d’être approchée par beaucoup d’artistes. Je fonctionne aussi beaucoup au coup de coeur que ce soit à travers les réseaux sociaux, une expo ou des recommandations d’amis. J’essaye d’écrire que sur des artistes dont j’ai vu le travail en vrai, c’est ma règle 😉 Et je ne me force jamais à publié quoi que ce soit si je n’ai pas aimé.
Belle découverte, Merci.
Avec plaisir !