Artists' Summit
It makes perfect sense: Herb Williams to sculpt Red Grooms portrait
Of any artist working today in Middle Tennessee, Herb Williams probably has the closest affinity to Red Grooms, the most well-known artist to come from hereabouts. Both share a boundless sense of humor and an eye for telling details about society and personality. Williams' recent sculptures made from crayons seem like the kind of thing Grooms would come up with.
Up to now, the two have circulated in completely separate planes of the art world, but thanks to a series of events enabled by Gordon and Constance Gee, Williams and Grooms are finally meeting. Williams is working on a series of crayon sculptures of iconic Tennessee figures, including Johnny Cash, William Edmondson, Oprah Winfrey—and Red Grooms. While the Gees decided to commission Johnny Cash for their collection, they offered to put Williams in touch with Grooms.
Not surprisingly, Williams was nervous about what Grooms would think of his work, and equally unsurprisingly, Grooms was interested in what Williams is doing. He invited the younger artist to meet him in New York and to sketch and photograph him for the sculpture. That meeting will occur next weekend. Williams and Grooms sit somewhere along the same line of Tennessee artists, and it's satisfying to know that a connection has been drawn between the two of them.
—David Maddox
