Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams primarily focuses on photography as his main medium, but he also explores other artistic avenues, including video, installation, sculpture, and performance.

His creative process often begins with the concept of reproduction, and through this, he skillfully disrupts the established norms of advertising, challenges the superficiality of surface appearances, and delves into the history of Modernism.

Biography of Christopher Williams

Born in 1956 in Los Angeles, USA, Christopher Williams currently resides and conducts his artistic endeavors in both Los Angeles and Cologne, Germany.

He honed his artistic skills by studying at the California Institute of the Arts, where he had the privilege of learning from the pioneering West Coast conceptual artists of the time. 

Starting in the 1990s, Williams embarked on a journey of expanding the scope of his projects. He turned his attention towards Europe, particularly Germany, seeking new subjects and producing larger-scale images. As his artistic vision evolved, he also assumed the role of directing a sizable studio team to create his photographs and prints.

In 2008, Williams furthered his contribution to the world of art by taking on the esteemed position of professor of photography at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

Throughout his career, Christopher Williams' works have graced the walls of renowned museums and galleries in various corners of the world, including the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and Japan, cementing his reputation as an internationally celebrated artist.

Christopher Williams' Art Style

Christopher Williams' art delves into the ordinary and banal aspects of everyday life, uncovering the hidden layers of social and historical significance within them. While his subjects may seem commonplace, his work serves as a critical commentary on the established norms of commercial photography and photojournalism. In a manner reminiscent of Pop art, albeit for different reasons, Williams' photographs cleverly mimic and parody commercial techniques by employing high gloss finishes and sharp, meticulous focus.

Williams draws inspiration from the rich tapestry of photography, film, architecture, and design, paying homage to the works of specific photographers, commercial studios, and advertisers from the 1950s and 1960s.

For example, his piece "Cutaway model Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 360/9 Copal 3..." could easily be mistaken for technical photographs from 1960s camera adverts or photography journals. However, these images are presented individually within black frames, showcased as art photography. Despite their resemblance to obsolete photographic equipment, these works challenge the process of their creation and urge viewers to look beyond the surface of the image.

In most of his exhibitions, Christopher Williams plays with traditional display conventions and engages with the architectural and sometimes the institutional history of the spaces in which his work is installed. He's not afraid to break from convention, at times suspending his works so low that viewers must crouch or bend to fully appreciate them.

Williams' photographs often feature outdated film-based equipment, including cameras, lenses, and darkroom gear, portraying them with a sense of precision and beauty akin to catalog product shots, thereby instilling new life and appreciation into these obsolescent objects.