The Fall 2026 Graduate Art guest lecture series, organized by Jan Tumlir and Jack Bankowsky.

Chris Williams

This event is offsite and closed to the public.

Christopher Williams was born in Los Angeles in 1956. His work addresses the visual and informational structures that define everyday life, with an emphasis on the past currents that circulate through the present. Working in a variety of media, including photography, video, and installation, his multifaceted practice incorporates references to multiple sources and precedents gleaned from the histories of art and advertising, as well as the artist’s own ever-expanding inventory of imagery and discursive materials.

Christopher Williams: The Production Line of Happiness marked the artist's first major museum survey, which spanned thirty-five years of work. The exhibition was first on view at The Art Institute of Chicago in 2014, followed by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Whitechapel Gallery, London in 2015. More recently, in 2019-2020, Williams presented MODEL: Kochgeschirre, Kinder, Viet Nam (Angepasst zum Benutzen) at C/O Berlin. Other solo exhibitions include those held at Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany (2018); La Triennale di Milano (2017); ETH Zurich, Institute gta, Zurich (2017); Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany (2011); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium (2011); Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (2010); Bergen Kunsthall, Norway (2010); Kunsthalle Zürich (2007); Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2006); Secession, Vienna (2005); Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany (2005); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1997); and Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio (1995).

Institutional collections which hold works by the artist include the Art Institute of Chicago; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Ludwig Museum, Cologne; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, United Kingdom; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Williams lives and works in Cologne and Los Angeles. He is represented by David Zwirner and Capitain Petzel.

Image: Christopher Williams, Kodak Three Point Reflection Guide, © 1968 Eastman Kodak Company, 1968. (Meiko smiling), Vancouver, B.C., April 6, 2005.

See the full Fall 2026 Seminar schedule here.

Support for this series is generously provided by the following: Jack Shear, Brenda R. Potter, Brendan Dugan, Lisson Gallery, Beth Rudin DeWoody, David Kordansky, Jeffrey Deitch, Gattopardo, Tara Walters, Alan Hergott, and an anonymous donor.

ArtCenter's Graduate Art program is based on intensive studio practice and rigorous academic coursework. The program is distinguished by its low faculty-to-student ratio that provides students with the attention and feedback they need to refine and achieve their artistic goals. Faculty and students are artists working in all genres—film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, performance and installation. A significant number of alumni have achieved national and international acclaim and often return to share their insights and expertise as visiting faculty and guest lecturers.