Fortuitous Nature: The Textiles of Luella “Waddy” Williams

reception: Sept. 10, 5-7 PM

20th Century Textile Artist Luella “Waddy”  Williams Gets Kent State Exhibit

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University School of Art Galleries will display “Fortuitous Nature: The Textiles of Luella ‘Waddy’ Williams” at the Downtown Gallery September 3-26. There will be an opening reception September 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. Both the gallery and reception are free and open to the public.

Luella Williams was a textile artist active in Ithaca, New York, during the 1950s and ’60s. Her artworks were primarily weavings that incorporated found or harvested plant materials. During her lifetime, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquired one of her hangings for its permanent collection, and Williams was represented in shows at Corning Glass Center, Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University and the Worcester Art Museum.

We would like to thank Dr. Linda McDonald, special academic faculty at Kent State’s Center for International and Intercultural Education. Dr. McDonald is the widow of Luella Williams’s nephew Peter McDonald and has kept a significant amount of William’s work safe in archival boxes and on display throughout her home.

This exhibition has been researched and curated by the School of Art’s Director of Galleries Anderson Turner. It is Mr. Turner’s hope that putting Luella “Waddy” Williams work on display will help to foster interest in her work and in the textile artists who taught and worked with her in the greater Ithaca Area.

The Downtown Gallery is located at 141 E. Main St., Kent, Ohio. Gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Thursday 9:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Friday 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; and Sunday noon – 5 p.m.

Contact: Anderson Turner, Director of Galleries, haturner@kent.edu, 330-672-1369