SUSAN ANGHARAD WILLIAMS
HEDGEROW
STUDIO HIDDEN SEC RETS
Hedgerow, Studio, Hidden Secrets
The Story Begins
Each painting is an adventure. How will it finish? Will it be as I originally imagined or conceived it?
The relationship of objects contained within a strong geometric framework is the basis of my still life paintings. The painting develops, takes on a life of its own; objects are added, removed, re-arranged, until they occupy an exciting pictorial space. The background, often with its ‘natural graffiti’ plays an integral part. The objects come from a variety of sources – sometimes found, sometimes treasured, perhaps seemingly insignificant.
Echoes [p. 21]. The story begins with the Dragon vase. I have no idea of its provenance but have always been fascinated by the golden image on its green background. The apple blossom and other flowers I picked from branches overhanging a garden fence as I walked around the neighbourhood. I now had the natural forms, together with patterns I needed, to start painting.
Interior with Leaves, Tulips and Drawings [p. 9]. The stimulus/ excitement for this painting began with the totally un-
expected curling shadow cast on the white wall by a twisting stem. Calligraphic shapes of the dried leaves surround the central green leaf with its detailed pattern of veins. These contrast with the manufactured patterns of the small blue and white bowl and strip of wallpaper. The folded paper shapes evoke memories of childhood play.
In the more graphic flower paintings, where the natural forms are painted against a light background, the vibrant colours and shapes of flowers, leaves and stems enclose their own space, emphasised by the shape and colour of the shadows.
The relationship between three-dimensional space and the flat surface, between spatial forms and linear description is a constant exploration.
The story never ends . . .
Susan Angharad Williams
Flowers, Dragon Vase, Red Paper, 2023
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Flowers and Pointed Forms, 2024
on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Oil
Reaching Out: Red, Purple and Green, 2024
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Interior with Leaves, Tulips and Drawings, 2022
Oil on linen 23.6 × 19.3 ins | 60 × 49 cm
Red and White Freesias, 2024
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Freesias on a Narrow Shelf, 2024
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Garden Images with Tulips, Drying, 2022
Oil on linen 19.25 × 13 ins | 49 × 33 cm
Convulvulus and Fuschia, 2023
Oil on linen
10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Fuschia Stem, 2023
Interior with Collage and Drawings on a Wall, 2021
Oil on linen 19.29 × 13.18 ins | 49 × 33.5 cm
Poppies and Snaking Leaves, 2024
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Flowers in a Lustre Jug, 2024
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Forms Against a Wall, 2024
Oil on linen 5.5 × 6.5 ins | 14 × 16.5 cm
2024
Oil on linen 21.26 × 17.32 ins | 54 × 44 cm
Echoes,
on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Buddleia and Hydrangea, 2025
Oil
The Turkish Vase, 2025
Oil on linen 10.24 × 7.87 ins | 26 × 20 cm
Works © Susan Angharad Williams
Catalogue © Jonathan Cooper
Photography: Justin Piperger
Design: Graham Rees
Print: Five Castles Press
JONATHAN COOPER
20 Park Walk London SW10 0AQ
t: +44 (0)20 7351 0410
mail@jonathancooper.co.uk
jonathancooper.co.uk
Susan Angharad Williams (b. 1943, Glamorgan, South Wales) lives and works in Kent. Williams studied at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, before undertaking her Fine Art Masters at the Royal College of Art in 1969. She studied under the tutelage of Sir Peter Blake and Donald Hamilton Fraser. During her time at the Royal College she was awarded the ‘Drawing Prize’ and gained a distinction in her degree. She was also considered by tutors as ‘one of the two most outstanding artists of the last twenty five years at the college, the other being Kitaj.’
However, Williams chose to step away from the art world and the public eye but never stopped drawing and painting. In 2006, she decided to restart her public art career. She exhibited at the Welsh Artist of the Year show in Cardiff. She then entered the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries, 2007. Williams was chosen from over two thousand artists to win the ING Purchase Prize. Selectors for the prize included
Charles Saumarez Smith. This resulted in her solo show at ING Bank Headquarters in London in 2008. As a result, she had her first solo show with Jonathan Cooper in 2009.
Williams depicts natural forms, including flowers, seed pods, skeletal forms, found objects, as well as cherished objects she has collected throughout her life. Her choice of subject matter and composition continue to evolve as she focuses on the relationship between objects and the geometry of composition. Williams also plays upon the effects of patterning, juxtaposing those that resonate with one another to increase the tension of the painting.
Williams’ work is displayed in several public collections including; ING Art Collection, Royal College of Art and Carlisle Art Gallery, as well as several mixed exhibitions in the UK and USA.
