The Arch Is A Portal Is A Belly Is A Back marks Brittney Leeanne Williamsโ first solo exhibition with Alexander Berggruen. The new paintings and works on paper by Brittney Leeanne Williams take influence from desertscapes in Victorville, a city northeast of Los Angeles where Williams spent part of her childhood. Williams transforms these Southern Californian landscapes into โemotional landscapes: representations of psychological states, memories, and emotional ties.โ
The red of many of Williamsโs figures might connote a rawness, a tenderness, and an emotional vulnerability. As Legacy Russell wrote: โA break, tear, rupture, or cut in skin opens a portal and a passageway. Here, too, is both a world and a wound.โ (1) Williamsโs female forms serve as conduits to viewing a dimension of Williamsโs spirit. In her own words: โHer back becomes the keystone. She holds up what is above, fastening herself to whatโs below, to make room so that something or someone may pass through.โ
(1) Legacy Russell, Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto, London, New York, 2020, pp. 83-84, 101
The Arch Is a Portal Is a Belly Is a Back is on view through April 14 @ Alexander Berggruen 1018 Madison Avenue, Floor 3, New York