Sue Williams (Born in 1954) is an American feminist painter who habitually combines themes of the body and gender politics into her work. She studied at the California Institute from where she received her BFA in 1976. Sue’s early works of caricature paintings and highly-narrative comic made her known to a larger audience. By exploring more controversial themes such as sexual obscenity and domestic violence, she challenged Judy Chicago and other earlier feminist artists. She was also not impressed with the acceptance of sexism in society. In 1993, she was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship and her violent images became more fragmented and abstract. Sue has emerged as a leading visual artist working and living in Wales today. Her tenacity has made her to win a string of commissions and awards including the Oppenheim John Downes Award and the Welsh Arts Council Award.
In 2000, Sue was presented with the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation Award and the National Eisteddfod Gold Medal for painting. With her solid background in Fine Art, she combines mixed-media with her skilful drawings on a bold scale. Photography, text graffiti and fabric, are mashed into confrontational, strong paintings. Mixing feminist ideology, sexuality, jealousy and lust, Sue challenges her viewers to question female roles within society and the nature of femininity. Currently, she’s a member of the 56 Group and the Visual Arts Board for the Arts Council of Wales. The former is a group of Welsh artists who show their work together. Currently, her art is found in many collections all over the world.
