Emanating electric forces almost like lightning, the speckled glowing figures in Didier William’s paintings are studies of both the physical and spiritual body interacting in different environments; they hoist each other up by a stream in the woods, plunge into water, both floating and sinking, and hover over a ground of glowing faces in a cave. The textured cloudlike forms, which William achieved through combining wood carving, paint and ink, are almost psychedelic in nature, both fleshy and ghostly. Several paintings are more narrative, like dreams or memories: in one work, a body topples over the hood of a Honda with a turquoise beam of light wrapping around the accident, a smaller shadow looming behind the car. Up close, the tactile, intricate quality of William’s works add movement to his scenes, and the overall effect is an alluring inaugural exhibition for the gallery’s new LA space.

James Fuentes
5015 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038