Maya Series Cenote IV

Born in Guyana, Aubrey Williams was a truly trans-Atlantic artist, producing work from studios in London, Jamaica and Florida. Williams expressed his absorption in the natural world through modernist stylistic trends then concurrent in Europe and America, finding particular affinity with the action and colour field paintings of Pollock, de Kooning and Rothko. Williams admired the music of Shostakovich, a visual expression of which he realised on sizeable canvasses. He had a deep interest in pre-Colombian culture, feeling strongly that the sudden extinction of the Maya should serve as stark portent for modern times.

Moving to London in 1952, Williams enrolled at St Martins School of Art, exhibited at New Vision Centre and was a founding member of the Caribbean Artists’ Movement. His work is held in world-wide collections including Tate, National Gallery of Jamaica, Perez Art Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He died in 1990.