Chicago artist Bernard Williams is presenting a compelling solo exhibition titled "CROSSINGS" at the Elmhurst Art Museum, featuring paintings and sculptures that explore African American history through iconic materials and symbols. The exhibition, curated by Allison Peters Quinn, runs through August 17 and includes both indoor and outdoor installations that serve as monuments to historical figures and events often overlooked in mainstream narratives.
The exhibition stands in stark contrast to the typical summer public art installations that appear throughout Chicago and its suburbs. While nearby areas of Elmhurst feature generic installations like "Umbrella Sky" and "Color Rain" - mass-produced decorative pieces available from a Portuguese company with no local significance - Williams' work offers deep cultural resonance and historical meaning rooted in American experience.
Williams, born on Chicago's far south side in 1964, has been a cornerstone of the city's art scene for decades. Beyond his studio practice, he has worked extensively with the Chicago Public Art Group, the legendary mural-making organization celebrating its 50th anniversary this fall. His collaborative works can be found in elementary schools and underpasses throughout various neighborhoods, along with numerous permanent solo projects in city parks and plazas.
One of the exhibition's most striking outdoor pieces is "Route 27," a larger-than-life race car constructed from painted plywood and installed in Wilder Park on the museum's south side. While children might see it as an exciting oversized toy, closer inspection reveals sponsor logos and team names that tell deeper stories: "MIES" for architect Mies van der Rohe, "BOOKER T" for Booker T. Washington, "1803 LP" for the Louisiana Purchase, and references to "YAZOO," "KEOKUK," and "ROSENWALD." The number 27, "FOX" (referring to an Indigenous Midwest people, not the television station), and "JIM CROW FLOW" require viewers to engage more deeply with American history.
"The Black Tractor Project" represents one of Williams' most personal and politically charged works. This farm vehicle sculpture, carved from EPS foam and painted black with Rothko-esque patches of rusty color, features a Black Power fist raised high in the driver's seat. It commemorates the African American Farmers Settlement, a class action lawsuit that resulted in $1.2 billion in payments to Black farmers who faced discrimination from the US Department of Agriculture. Williams received some of this settlement money through an inheritance from his uncle, a farmer in Montgomery, Alabama.
The tractor's branding tells the story of this struggle for justice. Instead of "John Deere," the vehicle displays "FANNIE LOU HAMER," "68," "LAND IN," "REPARATIONS," and "USDA." The front tires are lined with "PIGFORD 1" and "PIGFORD 2," referencing the official legal case names. A silvery African mask sometimes hangs on the hood, connecting the piece to broader themes of African diaspora and cultural identity.
Two new 12-foot-tall steel signposts have been permanently installed on the museum's north lawn, designed for cultural and historical orientation rather than geographical wayfinding. "Cowboy Dream" features black silhouettes of a rooster, pig, and man in a Stetson, honoring the African Americans who helped shape the American West after Reconstruction - stories largely omitted from history books and Hollywood films.
The second signpost, "Spirit of Bessie Coleman," painted in white and yellow, includes a propeller, wings, and the face of a woman in aviator goggles. Coleman was the first Black woman pilot and the first American of any race or gender licensed by the internationally recognized Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Williams honors Coleman further with indoor sculptures, including a six-foot-tall bust with hair styled into wing-like formations and a full-size airplane decorated with Coleman-inspired iconography.
Two triangle-folded American flags rest on the airplane's hood, commemorating "Queen Bess," as Coleman was known, who died in a 1926 plane crash, along with other fallen soldiers and heroes. Unlike "Spirit of Bessie Coleman 2," created from an actual restored kit plane, most of Williams' vehicle sculptures are intentionally non-functional, crafted from materials like plywood and foam.
This deliberate choice adds to their charm and accessibility. "Electric Car," jigsawed from plywood, resembles a teenager's line drawing brought to life through pure enthusiasm for the subject. These sculptures demonstrate that while they cannot physically move, they possess the power to move viewers emotionally and intellectually through their historical narratives and artistic innovation.
Williams creates his enigmatic canvases using materials laden with cultural significance, including Georgia dirt, Native American basketry patterns, and speedway track flags. His "dirt paintings" installed in a bedroom setting at the museum connect land, labor, and African American agricultural history in intimate domestic space.
The exhibition occurs at a time when public sculpture faces political scrutiny. The Trump administration's proposed National Garden of American Heroes, a $34 million park featuring traditional figurative statues of figures like Milton Friedman and Alex Trebek, represents a vastly different approach to commemorative art. Williams' work offers an alternative vision that centers previously marginalized stories and uses contemporary artistic language to make history accessible and engaging.
The Elmhurst Art Museum, located at 150 Cottage Hill Avenue, provides an ideal setting for Williams' work. The museum includes a wing featuring Mies van der Rohe's experimental kit house, creating dialogue between modernist architecture and contemporary art that addresses social justice and historical memory.
"CROSSINGS" demonstrates Williams' mastery of both material and meaning, using familiar forms like tractors, airplanes, and race cars to open conversations about complex historical narratives. His steel signposts, vehicle sculptures, and paintings work together to create a comprehensive exploration of African American contributions to American development, from aviation pioneers to agricultural workers to western settlers.
The exhibition continues through August 17, offering visitors multiple opportunities to engage with Williams' powerful artistic vision. Through playful materials and bold sculptures, Williams proves that public art can simultaneously entertain and educate, creating spaces for reflection on American history while inspiring future creativity and social engagement.
