Guyanese pioneer of abstract art gets an ‘overdue’ reappraisal

A Guyanese pioneer of abstract art is receiving an “overdue” reappraisal in the UK, including a new London exhibition at the October Gallery.

Despite an ill-fated Paris encounter with Picasso, who dismissed him, painter Aubrey Williams was a “respected figure in his lifetime,” The Guardian wrote, but faded from view after his death in 1990.

Influenced in part by classical music and ancient civilizations, Williams was “one of the ideas men” in the Caribbean Arts Movement, a scholar said.

He also drew from his work as an agronomist in Guyana, which marked him out as “ahead of his time,” October Gallery’s artistic director said: “He talked about ecological matters … I think now is his time, in a sense.”