We were lucky to catch up with Philemona Williamson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Philemona thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was introduced to art in JHS by a wonderful Painter/Teacher, Joan Thorne. Joan was and still is a working and exhibiting Artist. I fell completely in love with the decision-making process of painting. As an adolescent there are so few things you are in control of. Painting became the one place where I was in total control. I continued studying art at the High School of Music and Art in NYC and then on to Bennington College. During college I realized making a career of being a painter was what I wanted and it seemed like a possibility. Painting has been so much a part of me becoming the person I am. It is what I love doing everyday, I find starting a painting is always an adventure into a magical place. I love using intense color and figures in motion to develop a narrative that offers the viewer a way to enter and explore my invented world.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a narrative painter living in Montclair ,NJ . My studio is in East Orange , NJ in a complex called Manufactures Village, built in the 1880’s. The building is now studio space for over 60 artists. My work focuses on the tumultuous time of adolescence; a time of wonder, hopefulness and little control over one’s daily life. My figures are signifiers of that short transitory period in our lives that is loaded with intense emotions. They challenge the viewer to remember all the possibilities of youth before adulthood snatched them away. My main subject for many years was solely the adolescent female. But in having a son and a daughter go through adolescence, I found myself overwhelmed by their individual journeys. They began to inform my narrative with a broader perspective than my own personal experience . The figures in my paintings embrace the ambiguity of race,class and gender.

I was recently awarded the Anonymous Was A Woman Award which has been so meaningful after many decades of pursuing an art career. This honor brings me joy every day. It is so rewarding to be recognized by one’s peers. I am very excited about my upcoming exhibit November 2023 in Paris at Semiose Galerie. This will be my first solo exhibit in Europe. My other gallery representation is Jenkins-Johnson Gallery in California and June Kelly Gallery in NYC. I Have BA from Bennington College and an MA from NYU.

My work is in many museum and private collections including:
Baltimore Museum of Art, MD
Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, West Palm Beach, FL

Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI

Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina
Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia
Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
Sheldon Art Museum, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska

Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts

Mott-Warsh Art Collection, Flint, Michigan

Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York

Art in Embassy Program, US State Department, Madagascar

AT&T, New Jersey

I am the recipient of several fellowships including:
2022 Anonymous Was A Woman Grant
2022 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship

2015 Artists-in-Residence Program, Joan Mitchell Center, New Orleans

2008 Bau Institute, Residency, Otranto, Italy
1997 Joan Mitchell Foundation Award in Painting , New York, New York

1993-1994 Ludwig Vogelstein Grant, New York, New York

1991 New York Foundation for the Arts, Fellowship in Painting

1989- 1990 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, New York

1988 AIM, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York Artists Space, Exhibition Grant , NYC

1987-1988 National Endowment for the Arts , Fellowship in Painting, Washington, DC

1983 The Millay Colony for the Arts, Artist-in-Residence, Austerlitz, New York

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am passionate about the access of an art education to a wide and diverse population of children and adults. I was fortunate to have been introduced to art making at a pivotal time in my young life. Teaching has enabled me to bring an art experience to many communities; from pre-K students to Graduate programs, juvenile detention centers and workshops for NYC School Principals. I am proud to serve as a Board member of The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit, NJ and DoingArtTogether in NYC. These institutions are committed to bringing art to a diverse community, through programs, exhibitions and outreach. Public art works are another way of reaching many people. I was pleased to be commissioned to produce a six-panel fused-glass piece for the MTA Arts-In Transit program. My piece ”The Seasons” is installed at the Livonia Ave Station in Brooklyn. It is so rewarding to see people enjoying it on their daily commute. Working in my studio is a solitary experience which I love, but I also want my art to reach a large and varied audience. I want my work to interact and be a conversation starter for the viewer.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One book I go to often in my studio and recommend to other artists and students is Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life.
It feeds my soul.

Contact Info:

• Website: Gallery links: jenkinsjohnsongallery.com (California) / junekellygallery.com (New York) / semiose.com (Paris)
• Instagram: @philemona8
• Other:Artist Film Bio (2023 / 6 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF52L0I_Okw

  Yale University Radio interview https://museumofnonvisibleart.com/interviews/philemona-williamson