about

Hadley Williams makes abstract paintings of handmade, repeated forms. Raised in Massachusetts then California, Williams is interested in exploring the tension between opposites - linearity and roundness, control and chance, order and imperfection. 

Her recent work is a series of line paintings made with acrylic, gouache and gesso. She first applies horizontal strips of tape to the canvas leaving space between strips, then paints the exposed canvas. After each round of paint is dry, tape is removed, and the process is repeated. Varying amounts of water are mixed with the paint so that each line of color seeps beyond the tape edges to create uneven borders. The organic bumps soften the strict, linear composition.

Williams paints in her Oakland studio and lives with her family in the East Bay.

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Education

MFA Studio Arts, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA

BS Human Service Studies: Social Work, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Solo Exhibitions

Circles & Grids, Manna Gallery, Oakland, CA

Fields & Grids, 500 Tremont Avenue, Point Richmond, CA 

New Work, Piedmont Center for the Arts, Piedmont, CA

Organic Abstraction, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA

Bumps & Gaps, MFA Graduate Show, Arts and Consciousness Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Bumps, JFKU Works in Progress Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Paintings & Works on Paper, JFKU Works in Progress Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Circles, Bumps & Grids, Start Here SF Non Salon, Curated by Doniece Sandoval, San Francisco, CA

New Work, Suite Five Salon, Curated by Jenn Doyle Crane, San Francisco, CA

Paintings & Fabric Works, Venus Restaurant, Berkeley, CA

Etching, Painting & Drawing, JFKU Works in Progress Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Painting & Drawing, JFKU Works in Progress Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Paintings & Works on Paper, JFKU Works in Progress Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Group Exhibitions

Undertakes to Answer, Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, CA

de Young Open, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Play. SLATE contemporary online exhibition, https://slateart.net

Of Method and Material, SLATE contemporary, Oakland, CA
Root Division's 18th Annual Art Auction, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
Farewell Exhibition, San Pablo Art Gallery, San Pablo, CA

The Universal Aesthetics of Color, McGuire Real Estate, Berkeley, CA
Collect, Invitational Exhibition, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

Here: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Black & White and Shades of Gray, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Juried by Linda Connor, Mill Valley, CA
Artist Choice, SF Women Artists Gallery, Juried by Matt McKinley, San Francisco, CA
Collect, Invitational Exhibition, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Squared Alumni, Arc Gallery, Curated by Michael Yochum, San Francisco, CA
Harvest Festival, Piedmont Center for the Arts, Piedmont, CA
ABSTRACT, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Juried by Frances McCormack, Sebastopol, CA
Abstract Preferences, NIAD Art Center, Organized by Anthony Pinata, Richmond, CA

Reimagining Minimalism, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Curated by Don Soker, Mill Valley, CA
Here: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Harvest Festival, Japanese Tea House, Piedmont, CA
Common Ground, Gray Loft Gallery, Curated by Jan Watten, Oakland, CA

Here: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

Luminous Worlds, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Juried by Cindy Pavlinac, Mill Valley, CA

Touch, Campfire Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Paper Work, Oakland International Airport, Curated by Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA

Transport: Members’ Exhibition, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA

Array: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

Art as Liminal Space, Alumni Exhibition, Juried by Jeremy Morgan, JFK University, Berkeley, CA

Fluid Geometry, San Pablo Art Gallery, Curated by Ann Austin, San Pablo, CA

Wonder: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley CA

Graduate Exhibition, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA

Feral Order: Contemporary Abstraction, Los Medanos College Art Gallery, Curated by Judi Pettite, Pittsburg, CA

Surface:Pattern, Local 123 Gallery, Curated by Peter Hayes, Berkeley, CA

Four Squared, Arc Gallery, Curated by Michael Yochum, San Francisco, CA

Berkeley Civic Art Exhibition, Juried for MLK Jr. Civic Center Building, Berkeley, CA

Shine: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

Everyday is not the Same, Branch Gallery, Oakland, CA 

Green: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

4 x 4 Community Exhibition, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA

Red: Artists Annual, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

4 x 4 Community Exhibition, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA

Community Exhibition, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA

Winter Dreams, Transmissions Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Press

Arts Feature Review: Of Method and Material, East Bay Express by DeWitt Cheng, Feb. 5, 2019

Home remodel project and glass disc window installation featured in Diablo Magazine, October 2016

Painting from Collect at Berkeley Art Center featured in the Berkeley Times, September 2016

Home remodel project and approach to art featured in Luxe Interiors + Design SF magazine, September 2015

Critic’s Choice Review of Common Ground, East Bay Monthly by DeWitt Cheng, May 2015

Painting from Wonder at Berkeley Art Center featured in the Berkeley Times, January 2013

Critic’s Pick Review of Bumps & Gaps, East Bay Express by DeWitt Cheng, October 2011

Critic’s Choice Review of Everyday is not the Same, The East Bay Monthly by Jeanne Storck, July 2010

Critic’s Pick Review of Everyday is not the Same, East Bay Express by DeWitt Cheng, July 2010

Featured Artist, Pivot Gallery, pivotgallery.com, May 2010

Art pictured in California Home + Design Magazine, San Francisco, CA, April 2010

Featured Artist on Jute interior design website, jutehome.com, 2009–2010, 2013

Review on ArtBusiness.com of Suite Five Salon Solo Show, San Francisco, CA 2009

Published in 580 Split: A Journal of Letters and Arts, Issue Five, 2003

Public Presentations

Of Method and Material Artist Talk, SLATE contemporary, Oakland, CA 2019

Black & White and Shades of Gray Artist Roundtable Discussion, O'Hanlon Center, Mill Valley, CA 2016

Organic Abstraction Artist Talk, Mercury Twenty Gallery, Oakland, CA 2013

Feral Order Artist Talk, Los Medanos College Art Gallery, Pittsburg, CA 2011

Bumps & Gaps Artist Talk, Arts and Consciousness Gallery, Berkeley, CA 2011

Four Squared Artist Talk, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2011

Berkeley Civic Center Guided Tour Talk, Berkeley, CA 2011

Circles, Bumps & Grids Artist Talk, Start Here SF Non Salon, San Francisco, CA 2009

Honors

Keenlee Art Advisory Service Selected Partner, Oakland, CA 2017, 2018

Bay Area Visual Arts Network Selected Artist, Oakland, CA 2013

MFA Selections Exhibition Nominee, di Rosa Art Preserve, Napa, CA 2012

Alameda County Arts Commission Artist Registry Selected Artist, Oakland, CA 2010–2012

Bay Area Visual Arts Network Selected Artist, Oakland, CA 2010

Critic’s Picks by DeWitt Cheng, East Bay Open Studios, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA 2009

Critic’s Picks by Timothy Buckwalter, East Bay Open Studios, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA 2009