Built This Way (Portrait of Karl S. Williams)
David Bongiorno
- Sitter: Karl S. Williams
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 64cm x 94cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
2025 Performing Arts and Music Prize
Proudly supported by
Lister Family Foundation
About the artwork
Blues, roots and folk musician Karl S. Williams, based on the Gold Coast, has been performing at festivals and venues around the country for over a decade.
“I first saw Karl perform at a festival 10 years ago, when I was grieving a great loss in my life. His music had an incredible impact that has never left me. I have since come to know him personally and admire his creative courage and honesty. His song-writing, musicianship and flawless and powerful live performances are profound.”
This portrait shows Williams standing in a deep darkness, a single light source highlighting his face and his hands, resting on the head of his handmade guitar. The contrast creates a sense of introspection, drawing the viewer into the gentle strength of his presence.
“Karl’s wonderful hair and beard, in combination with his piercing eyes lends him an arresting air of timeless dignity reminiscent of kings and holy men of classical art, which merges perfectly with my sensibilities, art practice and style of painting.”
About the artist
David Bongiorno is a figurative artist based in Maleny, primarily working across drawing and painting. Since 2004, he has exhibited in solo and group shows in public and private galleries and been a finalist in numerous art awards. His work reflects on the human condition using portraiture, still life and figurative forms.
Judge's Notes
There is a potent allure to David Bongiorno’s portrait of the musician Karl S Williams. Painting is constantly evolving, and contemporary painters are productively inspired and influenced by the long tradition and discipline in which they practice. I was immediately drawn to Bongiorno’s contemporary take on Renaissance portraiture. There is an enigmatic quality to Bongiorno’s image that reminded me of the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer’s famous Self-Portrait at Twenty-Nine (Alte Pinakothek, Munich) completed in 1500. Like Dürer, Karl S Williams emerges frm darkness in a portrait of stillness, dignity, and gentle humanity. The painting is technically and aesthetically refined and confidently understated.
Jason Smith, Director, Art Gallery of South Australia
Chief Judge, 2025
