Lucy Williams: Radiant City

(Hardback)

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A major monograph documenting a decade of figurative and geometric work by London-based contemporary artist Lucy Williams. Her mixed-media bas-relief collages depict modernist architecture and interiors, from tower blocks and municipal buildings to private residences in Palm Springs. All made painstakingly by hand, this is a singular contemporary art practice that employs fine art, design and craft traditions in the digital age.

Radiant City is a major monograph documenting a decade of figurative and geometric work by London-based British contemporary artist Lucy Williams (b. 1972, Oxford). Her mixed-media bas-relief collages depict modernist architecture and interiors, from tower blocks and municipal buildings to private residences in Palm Springs.

All made painstakingly by hand, this is a contemporary art practice that, with the precision of an architect or a draughts-person, references craft traditions, using materials including paper, Plexiglas, wood veneer, fabric, piano wire and thread. Space, form, pattern, design and geometry meet with colour and light to form mesmerising, detailed scenes such as tiled swimming pools with mosaic walls, the imposing facades of Brutalist buildings, and domestic interiors containing bookcases replete with books, vases and ornaments.

In addition to figurative works, the publication also features the artist's Threaded Collages, abstract geometric pieces inspired by Bauhaus tapestries, constructivism and traditional Welsh quilting. Williams creates repeated triangular and diamond forms, using colourful painted papers along with silk and cotton threads.

Featuring a variety of text contributions, this, Williams's second trade monograph, has been designed by Kristin Metho, edited by Matt Price, and produced by Hurtwood. It is published by Hurtwood with generous support from Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco.

Author Bio

Lucy Williams (b. 1972, Oxford) studied at Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools, London. She has exhibited internationally with solo shows at McKee Gallery, New York and at Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, and since 2016 has been represented by Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco. Group shows have included Painting the Glass House: Artists Revisit Modern Architecture, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2008); Building Blocks: Contemporary Works from the Collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island (2011); and Cut & Paste | 400 Years of Collage, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh (2019).

Matt Price is a publisher, editor and writer based in London. He has edited numerous catalogues, monographs and anthologies, including titles for Phaidon, Thames & Hudson, Rizzoli and Hatje Cantz. He is Publisher at Hurtwood Press and Anomie Publishing.