Profile

Born in 1967,  John Williams began his career as a ceramicist after completing his degree at Brighton Art College in 1990. Prior to this he studied at Middlesex University from 1986-87.

Williams’s interest in making began in his early teens, when introduced to ceramics by a family friend. This early experience led to a larger deeper interest in making forms with clay. At the age of sixteen he began to study art. Williams’s early work took the form of ceramic sculptural vessels. In 2003 he abandoned the vessel altogether and began making sculpture based on the human figure.

Born partly from his own family experience, Williams has demonstrated a commitment to inspiring younger generations to create and articulate their understanding of the human condition. An example of this was the staged construction of a walkway of seven sculptures in the grounds of a local Academy school. Part time teaching has enabled him to sustain his studio practice.

In 2004 Williams was awarded the Freakley Prize for the Most Outstanding Portrait Sculpture by the Society of Portrait Sculptors, Cork Street. In 2007 he was awarded a Life Model Bursary from the Society of Portrait Sculptors and in 2008 he won a bursary for membership of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Williams has exhibited with Osborne Samuel and Beaux Arts, Bath. He recently completed a commission for Househam Henderson Architects to commemorate the site of a disused quarry. His work can be found in private collections in Britain, France Portugal and America

Now living and working in north London, Williams splits his time between the UK and the Dordogne region of France.