Rising Stars: Meet Kaelen Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaelen Williams.

Hi Kaelen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I started college I wanted to study physics, and through a variety of circumstances I nearly failed out of CU and wound up in community college trying to decide what I should do. Around the same time I developed chronic pain in my fingers which prevented me from rock climbing, which was the only thing I cared about at the time. So, I started taking art classes just kind of as a whim, and I found that it was a desperate struggle to sit down and study microbiology for 20 minutes but I could paint all night without even meaning to, so I decided to go with it. Eventually, I returned to CU and finished a BFA, and after that I made a tarot deck, which got Boulder Creative Collective’s attention. I had a show there in 2019 and a long residency spanning all of 2020 and a few months on either side. And here we are.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My whole life has been a strange winding path. Multiple long-term hospitalizations, nearly failing out of school twice, a crazy controversy surrounding my BFA show. I can’t say I’d change it though; it’s all lead me to where I am today.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to know Truth– with a capital T. When I was young I thought the only way to do that was. with science. But as I began to study philosophy I came to realize the limitations of the scientific method and the smuggled-in metaphysical position of materialism. I retreated from physics and a brief flirtation with microbiology to pure mathematics, which is reliable but generally pretty dry. My philosophical reading lead me eventually to Jung, who was my gateway into the occult. My study of spiritual and Magical traditions, combined with insights gained from psychedelics, granted me access to different kinds of truth, and different ways of how to act in the world in order to create change. This is the foundation of my art practice. I have a lot of interests–philosophy, physics, math, music, film, literature, the occult, building a postcapitalist world, probably more I’m forgetting. One of the best things about art is I can draw on all of these things rather than specializing in one. In college my work was much more academic than it has been since then.

After I graduated I became interested in what paintings and drawings can do beyond hanging on a wall. I’m always trying to expand and do new things. The first thing I did after college was a tarot deck. While in residence at Boulder Creative Collective I made a coloring book called Fear and Loathing in 2020. I’m interested in art that is monetarily accessible to the average person, i.e. cheap, but perhaps not so accessible in terms of its content. I hate artist’s statements. The art that has influenced me the most tends to be stuff that has a deep quality of mystery.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Boulder Creative Collective for sure deserves a huge amount of credit. They gave me my first show after college at a very low point in my life, then the residency which was just an incredible opportunity. We had a really good crew of residents and I’m sure we’ll all remain friends for a long time.

Pricing:

• my tarot decks, coloring books, and shirts are all in the $20-$30 range. My paintings are a different story but it depends on the piece.

Contact Info:

• Email: kaelenwilliams@gmail.com
• Website: kaelenwilliams.com, https://davissiniestrochaosmagick.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/que_dubious/, https://www.instagram.com/dumpsterfiretarot/, https://www.instagram.com/aphantasiaritualgarments/