Robert Williams is Fearless Depictions at Long Beach Museum of Art

This exhibition of Robert Williams is a wild ride. His images are hyper-detailed almost shockingly so. But that is because of the subject mater with is provocative, nightmarish and humorous all at the same time.

His career started in 1965 with designs for hotrods, but in 1967 he was working at Zap Comics. By 1994 he had started Juxtapoz Art and Culture Magazine. The 54 works in this show are all from 2007 to the present but although the look is of comics, they have no panels, no strips…they are all one compact image. This is a master draftsman merging fine art with a cartoon style. 

A close look at these images, and you see a subversive personality. Read the complex explanation of the wall text written by Williams and you soon realize that the joy of making the image is paramount. He doesn’t really care what you think, or what the images even mean to him. I think the joy of letting it all lose on the canvas is what feeds him. The first images here are all about the artist who is creating and how damned they are.  The next set makes fun of the fantasy of a perfect life and corporate greed. There are also two large scale sculptures and  small sculptures called Miscreants that are 3-D printed and lots of magazines. But it is the painting that are his Fearless Depictions.  

I was so drawn to this work, that the stop in Long Beach on our way home from Los Angeles, was a delight. I highly recommend taking a day trip (an hour and a half if the traffic is good). We enjoy our take away from The Original Thai Barbeque...huge portions and wonderful coconut soup. And the view from the Museum of the Pacific Ocean is a delight. 

 

Robert Williams: Fearless Depictions
Long Beach Museum of Art
Showing until May 31, 2026
2300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA
(562) 439-2119
Thursday to Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm