I’ve been watching Robin F. Williams since her first show, Rescue Party, at PPOW’s upstairs Chelsea gallery back in 2011. I remember being absolutely gobsmacked. It was one of the first shows where I remember really wishing I could take one home. Her prices have, of course, skyrocketed since then, and there’s a waiting list a mile long. Williams was born in 1984. I didn’t realize how young she was at that 2011 show. Wow, can she ever paint!

I admit to having seen this recent show, Out Lookers, three times. I have been to other exhibitions by Williams over the years, and always make a point of seeing her work in person when I’m able. At first I was surprised by how different Out Lookers feels from Williams’ earlier work, but after repeat viewings I was really blown away by the new approach. Plus, I did come home with this lovely catalog to add to my growing art book collection.

“Known for her large-scale paintings of stylized, sentient, yet ambiguously generated female figures, Williams employs a variety of techniques, including oil, airbrush, poured paint, marbling, and staining of raw canvas to create deeply textured and complexly constructed paintings. Building upon previous visual investigations into the coded narratives of American media, Out Lookers extends Williams’ oeuvre into the supernatural with a new cohort of ghosts, cryptids, witches, and trolls”. (PPOW)

Running concurrently Pace Prints has an exhibition of new monoprints and etchings, Robin F. Williams: Final Resting Face. I of course went, and might try to pop in again before it closes on the 27th.