Guy Williams, 71; Self-Taught Modernist Known for Eclectic Art

Guy Williams, 71, an eclectic, self-taught modernist artist and teacher whose work was handled by the Kiyo Higashi Gallery in Los Angeles, died Feb. 24 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara after a lengthy illness.

A native of San Diego, Williams taught at Chouinard Art Institute, Pomona College and UC Santa Barbara. He exhibited in group and one-man shows at Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley and Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Williams became known for his intellectual geometric paintings and mixed-media assemblages. He used subtly hued tree bark to give a look of geological strata, and quotations from the books of Samuel Beckett to enhance the meaning of cork, paper and wood collages. The versatile artist also created computer-generated inkjet prints on suede fabric that somehow achieved the delicacy of watercolor landscapes.