'''Didier William''' is a mixed-media<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://hyperallergic.com/409344/didier-william-we-will-win-tiger-strikes-asteroid-new-york-2017/|title=A Haitian Artist's Mesmerizing Eyes|date=2017-11-04|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> painter originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.design.upenn.edu/fine-arts/graduate/people/didier-william|title=Graduate Fine Arts {{!}} PennDesign|website=www.design.upenn.edu|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.umass.edu/art/event/visiting-artist/2018/didier-william|title=Didier William - 2018/2019 Visiting Artist and Practitioner Series {{!}} Department of Art {{!}} UMass Amherst|website=www.umass.edu|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://fas.camden.rutgers.edu/2018/03/16/visiting-artists-program-continues-mar-27-with-didier-william/|title=Visiting Artists' Program Continues Mar. 27 with Didier William – Faculty of Arts and Sciences|website=fas.camden.rutgers.edu|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> His work incorporates traditions in oil painting, acrylic, collage and printmaking to comment on intersections of identity and culture.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.artinamericamagazine.com/reviews/didier-william/|title=Didier William|work=Art in America}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/arts/design/what-to-see-in-new-york-art-galleries-this-week.html|title=What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week|date=2018-11-14|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-03-18|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==Early life and education== William was born in 1983 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://annazorinagallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/BIO-WILLIAM.pdf|title=Anna Zorina Gallery - William Didier Biography|date=March 2018|website=Anna Zorina Gallery}}</ref> He grew up in Miami, Florida, and received his BFA in painting from The Maryland Institute College of Art.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> William earned his MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University School of Art.<ref name=":7" />
He was an artist in residence at the [http://www.residencyunlimited.org/organizations/kgavriel/ Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325135935/http://www.residencyunlimited.org/organizations/kgavriel/ |date=2019-03-25 }} in Brooklyn, NY and has taught at the Yale School of Art, Vassar College, Columbia University, and SUNY Purchase. In 2016 he was appointed Chair of the MFA Program at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He vacated this position in May 2019.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In the fall 2019, Didier was appointed Assistant Professor in Expanded Print at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, NJ.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.masongross.rutgers.edu/content/didier-william-appointed-assistant-professor-expanded-print|title=Didier William appointed Assistant Professor in Expanded Print|date=March 29, 2019|website=Mason Gross School of the Arts}}</ref>
thumb|Didier William exhibit in the Unlimited showcase at Art Basel 2025 ==Career== Didier William's paintings are concerned with blackness and other identities subjected to an othering gaze and socioeconomic oppression, drawing on his experiences of immigrating to the United States from Haiti. His works embrace traditional conventions of painting in their size and planarity, but integrate collage and mixed media to reflect to layers on meaning in each piece. Didier's exploration of the gaze, Haitian Voudou, history, folklore, and identity is expressed through works that depict human figures.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3" /> His ''Curtains, Stages, Shadows'' series (2017-2018) was in part inspired by events surrounding Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager who was shot to death in 2012. He is currently working on a large-scale project related to ''Curtains, Stages, Shadows'' for 2020.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=http://www.strangefirecollective.com/qa-didier-william|title=Q&A: Didier William|last=Soldi|first=Rafael|date=December 13, 2018|website=Strange Fire Collective}}</ref>
===Exhibits=== His work has been exhibited at group shows and solo exhibitions in various institutions, including The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, Bronx Museum of Art, Frederick and Freiser Gallery, The Fraenkel Gallery, and Gallery Schuster in Berlin.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
====Solo exhibitions==== 2010. Didier William at Galerie Schuster, Berlin Germany<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://annazorinagallery.com/artist/didier-william/biography/|title=Biography {{!}} Anna Zorina Gallery|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2015. “Camouflage” Hap Gallery, Portland, Oregon<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hapgallery.com/hapworks/william-camouflage/|title=Hap Gallery {{!}} HapWorks {{!}} Camouflage|website=hapgallery.com|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2017. “Swarm,” PRIZM Art Fair, Miami, Fl (2 person show with Nestor Armando Gil)<ref name=":4" />
2017. “We Will Win,” Tiger Strikes Asteroid, New York NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tigerstrikesasteroid.com/post/165673716139/ny-didier-william-we-will-win|title=NY / Didier William: We Will Win|website=Tiger Strikes Asteroid|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
====Group exhibitions==== 2005. “Disegno: Contemporary Drawing Exhibition,” MICA, Kansas City Art Institute, Princeton University, California College of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Art<ref name=":4" />
2008. “Transformers”, Gateway/BlackBox Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bmoreart.com/2008/11/transformers-more-than-meets-eye-at.html|title=Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye at MICA October 13 – November 16 – BmoreArt {{!}} Baltimore Contemporary Art|last=Ober|first=Cara|date=5 November 2008 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2008. “New Akademiks”, Galerie Schuster, Berlin Germany<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/The-New-Akademiks/BFB252739D710FAA|title=MutualArt.com - The Web's Largest Art Information Service.|website=www.mutualart.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2009. “Summer Exhibition”, Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Summer-Exhibition/BF9583730111A839|title=MutualArt.com - The Web's Largest Art Information Service.|website=www.mutualart.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2009. “The Open,” Deitch Projects Long Island City, New York, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/The-Open/36CD757E0CA6AF17|title=MutualArt.com - The Web's Largest Art Information Service.|website=www.mutualart.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2010. “Artquake”, Renaissance fin Art, New York, NY<ref name=":4" />
2010. “Nice to meet you”, Sloan fine Art, New York, NY<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://coleccion-jimenezcolon.com/section/214959-William-Didier.html|title=William, Didier|website=coleccion-jimenezcolon.com|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2010. ”I’ll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours”, Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York, NY<ref name=":4" />
2011. “Intersecting Cultures/Virtual Worlds”, Underground Gallery at The Betsy Hotel, Miami, FL<ref name=":4" />
2011. Momenta Art Benefit, Loretta Howard Gallery, New York, NY<ref name=":4" />
2011. “Artquake”, Organized by Haiti Cultural Exchange, Brooklyn NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://repeatingislands.com/2011/01/04/artquake-projects-commemorates-haiti%e2%80%99s-2010-earthquake/|title=ArtQuake projects commemorates Haiti's 2010 earthquake|last=lisaparavisini|date=2011-01-04|website=Repeating Islands|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2012. "Mark, Scrape, Wipe, Shape," Organized by Spaceshifter Projects and curated by Sangram Majumdar and Karla Wozniak, Brooklyn, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jackiegendel.com/index.php?/upcoming/mark-scrape-wipe-shape-at-spaceshifter/|title=Mark, Scrape, Wipe, Shape : Jackie Gendel|website=www.jackiegendel.com|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2014. “Improvised Showboat,” Brooklyn, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://zacharykeeting.com/?cat=57|title=Zachary Keeting / Improvised Showboat|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2014. “No more place”, Alferro Gallery, Newark, NJ<ref name=":4" />
2015. “Bronx Calling,” The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bronxmuseum.org/exhibitions/bronx-calling_2|title=Bronx Calling - Exhibitions - The Bronx Museum of the Arts|website=www.bronxmuseum.org|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2015. “The heart is a lonely hunter,” The Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fraenkelgallery.com/exhibitions/the-heart-is-a-lonely-hunter-curated-by-katy-grannan|title=The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: Curated by Katy Grannan|website=Fraenkel Gallery|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2016. “Enlarged Fern” Moskowitz Bayse<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moskowitzbayse.com/group-exhibition-enlarged-fern|title=Group Exhibition - Enlarged Fern|website=Moskowitz Bayse|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2017. Pacific Standard Time, “Relational Undercurrents” Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wallach.columbia.edu/exhibitions/relational-undercurrents-contemporary-art-caribbean-archipelago|title=Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago|date=2017-08-04|website=Wallach Art Gallery {{!}} Columbia University|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2017. “Accordion Space,” Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts, Union College, Schenectedy. NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://muse.union.edu/visualarts/accordion-space/|title=Accordion Space {{!}} Visual Arts|website=muse.union.edu|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2017. “Passenger Pigeon Press Anniversary Show,” La Maison D’Art, NY<ref name=":4" />
2017. “Fold Ten,” C.R Ettinger Studio, Philadelphia, PA<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.title-magazine.com/2017/12/fold-ten-conversations/|title=Fold: Ten Conversations|last=Mitchell|first=Samantha|date=2017-12-21|website=Title Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2018. “Aesthetics of Matter,” Volta Art Fair, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hyperallergic.com/431327/aesthetics-matter-volta-art-fair/|title=Aesthetics Matter at the Volta Art Fair|date=2018-03-09|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2018. “Isness,” Morgan Lehman Gallery, NY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artsy.net/show/morgan-lehman-gallery-isness|title=Isness {{!}} Morgan Lehman Gallery {{!}} Artsy|website=www.artsy.net|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2018. “Strange Looks,” Gildar Gallery, Denver, CO<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gildargallery.com/exhibitions/strange-looks|title=Strange Looks|date=2018-03-04|website=Gildar Gallery|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
2025. "M. Florine Démosthène and Didier William: What the Body Carries," Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN<ref>{{Cite web |title=M. Florine Démosthène and Didier William: What the Body Carries |url=https://fristartmuseum.org/exhibition/m-florine-demosthene-and-didier-william/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=Frist Art Museum |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Awards=== 2007. Morris Louis Award for Excellence in Painting<ref name=":6" />
2006 & 7. Maryland Citation for Excellence in the Arts, Office of Senator Verna Jones<ref name=":6" />
2007 & 8. MFA Student Fellowship, Yale University School of Art<ref name=":6" />
2009. Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship for Painting<ref name=":6" />
2009, 10, & 11. Hearst Foundation Grant Recipient<ref name=":6" />
2012. Artist in Residence. Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program, Brooklyn NY<ref name=":6" />
2014. Artist in the Market Place, The Bronx Museum of Art<ref name=":6" />
2018. Rosenthal Family Foundation Award in Art<ref name=":6" />
==References== <references />
==External links== *“[http://www.artcritical.com/2017/11/19/coloneobaroque-didier-william-tiger-strikes-asteroid/ Coloneobaroque: Didier William at Tiger Strikes Asteroid]” * [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/arts/design/what-to-see-in-new-york-art-galleries-this-week.html “What to see in New York Galleries: Didier William”] * [https://hyperallergic.com/409344/didier-william-we-will-win-tiger-strikes-asteroid-new-york-2017/ “A Haitian Artists Meserizing Eyes,”] * [http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/2017/11/didier-william-the-unblinking-eye.html “Didier William: The Unblinking Eye,”] * [http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/2017/11/didier-william-the-unblinking-eye.html "Ann Pale/ Cafe Conversations: Artquake"], * [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-eckhardt-kohler/mark-wipe-scrape-shape-spaceshifter_b_2201986.html "Painting Lives: Mark, Scrape, Wipe, Shape, at Spaceshifter," The Huffington Post], * [http://www.gorkysgranddaughter.com/2014/04/didier-william-march-2014.html "Didier William: Studio Visit" Painter's Table] * [http://www.artpractical.com/review/the-heart-is-a-lonely-hunter/ "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" ArtPractical], * [https://www.umass.edu/art/event/visiting-artist/2018/didier-william "Didier William - 2018/2019 Visiting Artist and Practitioner Series"] * https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45319859
{{DEFAULTSORT:William, Didier}} Category:Living people Category:1983 births Category:Maryland Institute College of Art alumni Category:Yale School of Art alumni Category:Contemporary artists Category:Haitian emigrants to the United States Category:Artists from Port-au-Prince Category:Artists from Miami