The DIVINE of NINE: Recent Paintings by Dennis Paul Williams – Artist’s Reception

THE DIVINE OF NINE
Recent Paintings by Dennis Paul Williams
Teche Center for the Arts
Artists’ Reception Friday, April 19, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Join us as we celebrate the opening of “The Divine of Nine: Recent Paintings by Dennis Paul Williams.” Hors d’oeuvres will be provided by Café Sydnie Mae. Beer and wine available from a no-host bar. Free and all are welcome to this special event.

—
Teche Center for the Arts is proud to present Dennis Paul Williams’ first gallery exhibition in St. Martin Parish, his home.

Dennis Paul Williams is an artist, musician, and traiteur/healer, and a lifelong resident of St. Martinville, Louisiana. At age 10, he drew a self-portrait on the pillowcase of his father after his father’s death. He has drawn and painted ever since. Williams apprenticed as a child with an elder who sent him into nature to collect elements for use in healing remedies. Deeply rooted in Louisiana’s Creole culture, Williams’ art and life are infused with spirituality, nature, and the wonder of all of creation.

Before he paints, he prays. Williams sees his paintings not as mere objects to hang on the wall. His paintings are prayers. Inner visions over external observations live at the heart of William’s creations.

“It’s an essential part of my paintings, just like red, blue, yellow, I add this element along with oils and other media mixing in the prayers. They’re like a binder, a substance that holds the rest together—the patterns, lines, textures, and layers,” says Williams, whose works evoke the mystical poetry of William Blake.

Williams describes his paintings as a snapshot of a moment, an epiphany. “Done well, they reveal a whole timeless universe,” he says.

When Williams first enters a space, he senses its essence. Such was the case at Teche Center for the Arts when he came last spring to consider an exhibition. He surveyed the place and finally said, “Nine. That’s we’ll name the show.” As it turns out, the numeral nine holds spiritual significance throughout various faiths and cultures. A novena, for example, is an ancient Christian tradition of devotional praying repeated for nine successive days or weeks. And some traiteurs, traditional healers of South Louisiana, tie a nine-knotted string infused with prayers around people who come to them for treatment of maladies.

So, we present THE DIVINE OF NINE: Recent Paintings by Dennis Paul Williams, a show featuring nine paintings in the TCA theater gallery, plus one on display in the entryway, lagniappe, a little something extra.

Williams’ work is represented by galleries in New Orleans and London and is in museums and private collections throughout the U.S. and beyond. Now it is on view in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

Williams’ award-winning book, Soul Exchange: The Paintings of Dennis Paul Williams, was published by UL Press, as was Spirits of the Gods, with John Warner Smith. Among Williams’ other publications is Sibylline by Marc Vincenz, published by Ampersand Books. Williams tours the world as guitarist for his brother’s band, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas.

Exhibition guests will be invited to help name one untitled painting in the show and the artist will choose a winner to be announced during late summer. A selection from Williams’ extensive sketch books filled with drawings, poems, and notes, will be on display, along with his paintings. Finally, ekphrastic writing sessions, where writers compose a piece in response to a painting, will take place during the exhibition with a date for this unique experience to be announced soon.

For more information contact Sandra Sarr ssarr@techecenterforthearts.com or call (337) 366-0629