Michael Williams pushes the possibilities of painting in every direction at once, and he is omnivorous in his source material. Cartoons, appropriated images, collaged bits and pieces, text, and his own drawings arrive on the canvas in an artistic approach that consistently questions the nature of image-making and image-reading. Small Stuff 5 comes from a series that all use the same grimacing face – seen here in the arched yellow eyebrows, downturned yellow teeth, and orange mouth – with the distorted phrase “STUFF WE CAN USE” coming out of the right side of the mouth. The works exists as a painting about painting, as all the stuff in the canvas functions as part of the swirling composition. Williams has been included in numerous solo and groups exhibitions at institutions such as Le Consortium, Dijon; The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Brant Foundation, Greenwich; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montreal; Secession, Vienna; MoMA, New York; and Dallas Museum of Art. His first exhibition focused exclusively on his drawing practice is currently on view at The Power Station, Dallas.
