Boop-Oop-A-Doop: A Visual Voice of the African American Diaspora

EXHIBIT DATES: March 29 to April 29, 2023
PUBLIC RECEPTION: Saturday, April 1, 2023, 6 to 8 pm.

Addison Center for the Arts proudly presented an exhibition by artist Charles Williams Jr., entitled Boop-Oop-a-Doop: A Visual Voice of the African American Diaspora. The exhibition ran from March 29 to April 29, 2023, with a public artist reception on Saturday, April 1, 2023, from 6 to 8 pm at the ACA Gallery.

Charles Williams Jr. is a self-taught artist from Woodridge, IL who has been painting for over ten years. He is an award-winning member of the Naperville Art League and the Elmhurst Artists’ Guild. He’s influenced by abstract, urban, pop, modern, contemporary, and street art. He uses vibrant colors infused with geometric shapes and abstract line work that represents “the energy of life.” He incorporates a variety of mixed media like acrylic, pen, marker, oil pastel, chalk pastel, glitter, coffee beans, molding paste, among others to effectively manifest his elaborate imagination and artistic vision.
 
Charles has a profound belief that “art is an intrinsic expression of your soul and the medium you choose to express who you are. Your feelings are a God-given gift to be shared with the world.” Charles seeks to inspire and bring joy, peace, awareness, and love to the world through his art.

This exhibition, Boop-Oop-a-Doop, was Williams' homage to African descendants’ culture, history, fashion, resources, and overall beauty and style. Williams' main muse and source of inspiration is none other than the popular iconic character Betty Boop. By deftly weaving abstraction and figuration with sharp brush strokes, Williams explores the aesthetic of pop art, and incorporates other popular culture cartoon figures such as SpongeBob and the Pink Panther to convey a message of black beauty, brilliance, resilience, love, and hope for the future.

"We are delighted to host Charles Williams Jr.’s first solo show," said Julie Mars, Director of Communications at Addison Center for the Arts. "He adds a joyous African American perspective to the pop art movement pioneered by Andy Warhol and others. We are excited to offer Williams’ work as an introduction to the cultural happenings surrounding Warhol 2023 at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art this year.”​