In the Studios

Visiting Artist Residency at Oxbow with Didier William

02/28/12

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Didier William with Max Byck

Didier is working with students on Cambiaso and Planar studies with the figure. Students work from a live model and translate organic form into rectilinear planar studies in order to better understand the density of the human figure, angling, precise measurement, torque and direction.

One projects is to create a composition that includes at minimum 20 hands and 20 feet. The composition must create a narrative, students are asked to think both creatively and conceptually about the ways in which transformation, context, and composition can dramatically affect the narrative. Students also use powdered graphite and rags to draw focusing primarily on tone, density, and basic shape. Drawing with powdered graphite and paper towels forces student to not only see the ways in which abstract shape and value creates total form, but also forces them to be much more inventive with the actual marks used to describe the form.

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For their self-portrait project students are asked to make 30 drawing of themselves in sequences of 5, 6 sequences total. Each drawing will be fully considered, both object (the face) and background and should take no more than 45 minutes to complete. In fact, as the project evolves the drawings will naturally take less and less time to realize. The primary goal in this exercise is to allow students to develop a sensitivity to the material by keeping then subject consistent.

Towards the end of the residency Didier will meet with students in studios for 15 minute sessions to discuss individual progress and then in the final days conduct a group critique with student's work.

Didier William holds an MFA in painting from Yale University, and a BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Port-au-prince he was a 2009 recipient of the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship in painting as well as the 2006 recipient of the Morris Lewis Award for painting. He has exhibited paintings in group shows at Kravets Wehby gallery in New York, Deitch Projects in Long Island City, Swann Galeries in New York City, Gallerie Schuster in Berlin, as well as traveling exhibitions in Baltimore, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Greece. He is currently on the faculty in the Art/Art History Department at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

At Oxbow, the eye and the hand are inseparable from the mind and because their peers are also artists, students adopt fresh attitudes toward their work.

— Charles Altieri, Rachel Anderson Stageberg Chair, Professor of English, University of California, Berkeley

I have learned so many skills and habits that have made me a better person throughout my time here. To name a few: I have learned how to be a good roommate, how to communicate, and how to trust myself. I have learned the importance of staying hydrated, getting good sleep, and having a clean work space. I have learned how to share space both in the studios and dorms. Lastly, I have learned that it’s okay to advocate for what you need and that there is no harm in asking for help or support.

— Grace Reynolds, Fall 2023

At Oxbow, I got to try inquiry-based learning for the first time. This allowed me to control the amount of rigor and the depth of research in my topic, as well as picking a topic that I found most interesting. From going through this new process of learning, I feel excited to go back to the rigor of my sending school to apply the inquiry-based perspective to my classes.

— Meave Cunningham, Fall, 2015

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