Philemona Williamson

Born 1951 in New York, Philemona Williamson is increasingly being recognized as an important black female contemporary artist. Williamson recently had her first major museum solo exhibition, Philemona Williamson: Metaphorical Narratives at the Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey from September 15, 2017 through January 6, 2018. Her works have been described as, “intriguing and unsettling works that illustrate the edginess of imagination, pubertal curiosity and drama.” Williamson is known for her use of color and space. She creates a restless energy by crowding the canvas and pushing the figures that often defy gravity to the surface.

Williamson has received grants from the Joan Mitchell and Pollock-Krasner Foundations, as well as a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Williamson's teaching resume includes The Rhode Island School of Design in Providence; Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson; and Cooper Union and Parsons School of Design, both in New York City.