Elzie Williams III '22 Presents First Solo Exhibition, ‘Politics As Usual’

Elzie Williams III '22 is making their solo exhibition debut with Politics As Usual. The show, which opened on June 1, 2023, is on view now through July 16, 2023 at M 2 3 gallery in New York City.

“In Politics as Usual, Elzie Williams III’s first solo exhibition, the artist works through layers of visual projection to sound out the technological hold on us/ by us/for us, through the shadowy presence of products,” states the gallery’s press release. “Here productivity means bobbing and weaving in-and-out like a sewing needle between Black entertainment and what entertains the possibility of representing Blackness as such. Uncapturable in its totality, the unalienated joy of performance is celebrated, despite the hollow fungibility of a coded animation still tracking the disaster of branded bodies.”

Politics As Usual marks a return to the M 2 3 gallery for Williams, who was previously featured in the gallery’s Eponymous exhibition in 2022. Williams is also the first recipient of the Solomon B. Hayden Fellowship established in 2020 by Visual Arts alumnus Hugh Hayden ’18. In partnership with Columbia University and two prominent New York galleries, the Solomon B. Hayden Fellowships offer two students the opportunity to attend Columbia under specific circumstances—one fellowship, supported by Clearing gallery, is awarded to a student pursuing an MFA in Visual Arts with a focus on sculpture. In addition to financial support, these fellowships offer recipients mentorship opportunities and a chance to network by working directly with established artists, attending openings, and providing exposure and access for younger, emerging artists. Read more about the Solomon B. Hayden Fellowships here.

Elzie Williams III (American, b. 1993) holds an MFA in sculpture from Columbia University School of the Arts, New York (2022), and a BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York (2015). Williams’ work was included in Eponymous with Dominic Palarachio and Bat-Ami Rivlin '19, M 2 3, New York (2021); and on view with Lyn Lui at François Ghebaly, New York (2021). Recent exhibitions include Arrangements in Black at Phillips, New York (2022); exhibitions at Clearing in Brooklyn and Los Angeles (2022); Half Gallery, New York (2022); Thierry Goldberg, New York (2023); as well as MZ.25 (My Condolences), an exhibition by Monsieur Zohore at M+B, Los Angeles (2023); and The School of Visual Arts (SVA) Curatorial Thesis Exhibition Transcending the Ideal: Reimagining Femininity and its Relationship to Power, curated by Virginia Ingram (2023).