Mike Glier: The Alphabet of Lili

Mike Glier (American, b. 1953), Professor of Art at Williams College, uses painting and drawing to explore interpersonal relationships and the impact of humans on the world at large. The Alphabet of Lili, a series of twenty-six paintings born out of the nightly ritual of a father reading to his daughter, thwarts the common “A for apple” primer by depicting unusual symbols for each letter that reflect a parent’s hopes and fears for his child. 

Twenty-five years after these works were made, this exhibition reveals the themes, both artistic and personal, explored both in the series and throughout Glier’s career. Landscape, love, portraiture, parenthood, and an anxiety about the future that is tempered with optimism combine to create works that are simultaneously personal and universal with a continued resonance today.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website